Searching for Aubrey
by PrettyinPinkNikki21
Summary: A Sequel to Jennifer's Lie
1. A Year Later

MORE THAN A YEAR LATER

They had lived through the worst thing parents could ever do, bury their child …It nearly killed Jennifer standing at the gravesite when she should have been at Willow Pond making sure her baby was safely tucked in.

They say that the loss of a child is supposed to tear a couple apart, that they tend to blame one another but for Jonathan and Jennifer, that was the exact opposite for them because their mutual pain brought them together, they cried and grieved until there was nothing left and so they moved on but more than often Jennifer found Jonathan sitting at his desk in the loft staring at the baby picture, the only picture of their daughter.

Max, of course tried to find out what he could about the kidnapping but it seemed like all his contacts just didn't want to get involved in the death of the Hart infant.

Being at Willow Pond was helpful somewhat, it took them out of limelight of Maryland and No one seemed to bother them, of course they received the devasted looks every parent who has a lost a child receives but it didn't bother them, it couldn't, they were basically numb

The baby's case had officially been closed because her kidnapper had perished at the scene and there were never any trails to determine why he took her, there weren't even remains to identify so when they buried their baby, they held a small service, no coffin no urn, just a few kind words ..it didn't help in the slightest and Jennifer needed to be sedated afterwards

But yet they still moved on because life has to continue on

And So on what would have been their daughter's first birthday, they gathered at her small grave and put baby pink roses

"Jonathan," Jennifer started because she knew she would sound completely crazy and needed to word what she wanted to say properly, "I think she's still alive,"

"Darling, it's not possible…" He tried to comfort her

"But …" Jennifer protested then stopped realizing the devastation on his face

And now…She was pregnant again, this time on purpose, they needed some sort of distraction to ensure their survival

But the nursery Jonathan had setup in anticipation of Aubrey's homecoming was closed, it was too much and after many nights of watching Jennifer go to sleep on the floor sobbing, he had Max seal the door shut, He thought Jennifer would throw a fit but she seemed relieved that no one could disturb her daughter's sanctuary even though she had never been in there

So this baby's nursery would be a little bit further but at least they could ensure that they could get to their baby if necessary.

There would always be feelings of guilt that they had allowed someone to harm their daughter, that while they slept, someone had taken the very thing that meant the most to them

Even now, more than a year later, Jennifer didn't sleep through the night she was up six or seven times like any mother with a newborn would be except when she would get up, she would cry silently so Jonathan wouldn't hear her but he always did ..

Jennifer had put her career on hold at least until she could put herself together then finding out she was pregnant again, she had decided to write a novel about what she was going through, losing and gaining a baby

"Aubrey's Dream." was a best seller and there was talk about turning into a movie but both Jennifer and Jonathan felt it was exploiting Aubrey and their loss

Every day was spent wondering and thinking about her, her smile her laugh whether or not she'd like a certain food and how they would dress her, whether she'd still have her Mama's red hair or her daddy's brown hair, if she would be talking or simply still babbling

Moments you can never get back

But like with anything, time marched on and it was time to concentrate on the new baby

"Darling," Jennifer asked one night lying in bed," Are you excited about this baby?"

"Of course ..I know however many children we have can never replace Aubrey but this baby is going be loved like crazy," He smiled and kissed her

"Do you want a boy or girl," Jennifer said, she secretly wanted a boy because if they had another daughter it would be like replacing what they lost

"Honestly," He said Tentatively," I think a boy would be magnificent but as long as the baby is healthy,"

"I kind of want a boy too," She confessed

"You do?," he laid down beside her

"Yeah the idea of another little girl," Jennifer tried not to cry

"I know Darling," He said kissing her

"You keep that up and we might wind up with twins," Jennifer laughed kissing her husband

It felt good to laugh and to make love again without the grieving feeling behind it

The next morning, they wanted to stay in bed and make love all day but they knew they would have to get back to their regular schedules so they were up early and headed down to the breakfast table where Max had made eggs toast and fresh Orange Juice

Unfortunately, Morning Sickness had reared it's shiny little head and Jennifer nearly knocked Max over to throw up in the sink

"Umm ..Good Morning?" Max asked trying not to show his disgust..

This wasn't the first and it certainly wouldn't the last

"Max, my love." Jennifer wiped her mouth" Tomorrow just stick to rice krispies"

"Sure thing Mrs.H" Max said clearing the table but not before Jonathan walked in from the office

"Hey where's the food going ?" Jonathan asked

"Oh god," Jennifer threw up again

"Forget it.." Jonathan said losing his appetite," Darling, go back to bed your sick"

"No I'm alright..Max..Hand over the Saltines." Jennifer said with her head in the sink

"I'm on it," Max said, ever since she'd been pregnant he'd stockpiled Saltines they had enough for this and all future pregnancies.

"Darling, Come on go back upstairs and get into bed" Jonathan said turning his back, he felt bad but he couldn't bear to watch her heave especially in the place they ate their meals

"I have to go to the Baby store and get everything we need," Jennifer said gripping the sink

"I'll go," Jonathan offered "Me and Max can handle"

"Excuse Me?" Max said he'd never set foot in a baby store and he had no clue what babies needed

"Yeah we'll go it'll be an adventure," Jonathan didn't believe his own words but she was obviously in no condition to shop

"This won't end well but I'll make a list," She said

"Tell me what you want and I'll make the list, you look a little busy," Jonathan said reaching for a note pad

"A crib, a bouncy seat, onesies, a few baby blankets, a baby monitor, crib bumper,"She rattled off a bunch of items

"It's a good thing I extended our visa limit" Jonathan remarked after completing her list

"Haha," Jennifer said laughing imagining the site of them going to a baby store, "Oh you need to make sure everything is gender neutral"

"How the hell do we do that?" Max wondered

"Pick green and cream color things, nothing pink or blue we don't know the sex of the baby and I would hate to buy all one color for it to go to waste if this baby turns out to be the opposite," Jennifer said finally releasing the sink

"Or we could save it for the next baby," Jonathan remarked

"With your next wife?" She smiled to show she was kidding

"Alright, Darling you go to bed Max let's go!" Jonathan said picking up his keys and kissing his wife like it would be the last time they would ever kiss

Jennifer watched from the upstairs window as Jonathan and Max argued their way from the house to the car

She hoped she was doing the right thing sending them but figured if they screwed it up, she could always return the stuff and get what she wanted

She laid down in their bed and read one of the many baby books she kept beside the dresser, although she had been pregnant before, she wanted to make sure she was fully informed and after awhile, she fell asleep

A few hours, she was awoken by Jonathan and Max yelling at each other over boxes

"I'm telling ya, Set the crib up then the changing table!" Max said

"Why? The crib is a cinch it'll take less time!" Jonathan yelled back

"The Changing table is less pieces!" Max said

"Augh you don't know anything!" Jonathan said then Jennifer heard the box being opened and pieces hitting the floor, "Alright So I was wrong!"

"I ain't gonna say I told you so but I told you so!" Max smirked

Jennifer didn't want to get up because she was so comfortable but she couldn't miss an opportunity to see Laurel and Hardy together again

She crept to the baby's room and saw Max sitting on the floor and Jonathan standing in front of him with the instructions

"Hey ..why didn't you just pay the extra 50 bucks and have them put it together," Max said frustrated

"Because I want the baby to know his daddy put it together" Jonathan said "I can't read these damn instructions"

"You think this kid is going to come home from the hospital and say "Gee Dad, did you put my crib together?"Max said struggling to stand up

"Yeah well someday," Jonathan said "These stupid things read like Stereo Instructions"

"That's because your reading them in Chinese!" Max taking them out of his hand

At that point Jennifer dropped to the hallway floor and laughed until she peed herself

"What is that?" Max said sticking his head out the door

"The sound of a happy Mommy… are you alright Darling," Jonathan stood over her but she couldn't talk because she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, "You know laughing like that might be depriving the baby of oxygen"

"If this kid were smart, he'd stay where he was until you both have a clue," Max said going into the kitchen

After Jennifer stopped laughing and put the crib together herself, they went to the porch just to watch the sunset and Jonathan told her of their adventure in Baby Land

"I swear everyone looked at us like we were either insane or a couple ..one woman even asked if we were adopting or having a baby via surrogate and when I tried to explain that my wife was at home ..they didn't believe us .." Jonathan said

"And you do make a lovely couple" Jennifer said laughing again

"Yah well he ain't my type" Max said bringing her a lemonade, "When do we find out the sex of the baby?"

"Why?" Jennifer asked

"Because I've got 50 on Boy and I'd like some extra money to go to the track" Max said grinning

"Next Week, Pops" Jennifer said

"Pops?" Max said

"Well my father is going to be Grandpa and since there is no other grandparent in this baby's life, I dub thee Pops!" Jennifer

"Aww Shucks!" Max smiled blushing

"Darling, Let's turn on the news and see what's going on In the world" Jonathan said turning on the portable where a segment was just beginning

"Reporting Live from Kenya, We're here with recent owner of a Game Preserve, Elliot Manning, tell us about the animals you house here," a reporter asked

"We have all sorts of wildlife, Chimps, Bongos Flamingos all sort of wildlife .." Elliot grinned

"Tell us why you chose to create a game preserve?" the reporter asked

"I believe that all creatures deserve a sanctuary and I believe that this change the way the world views wildlife preserve" Elliot said

"that's such bull, he doesn't give a damn about the animals" Jennifer remarked

" And Also here on the preserve, you have established a school ..Why?" the reporter continued on

"Well Education is the foundation of all Knowledge and without education, we'd all have our heads up our asses," Elliot laughed

"You are also raising a young daughter on your own," the reporter asked

Elliot stopped laughing and almost looked frightened

"Uh yeah I am, " As someone who looked like an assistant walked onto the porch where he and the reporter were speaking

"Well We thought the world would like a Glimpse into another of your world," The reporter didn't care at how uncomfortable Elliot was "Tell us about your daughter,"

"Her name is Angela and she's almost two" Elliot stuttered

Jennifer suddenly lunged forward at the television and took notice of the little girl, with red hair and blue eyes

"Darling, what's the matter?" Jonathan asked

"That's Aubrey! That's our baby!" Jennifer cried out


	2. Searching for Aubrey

Jennifer was yelling now, she was convinced the child with Elliot was their daughter, hers and Jonathan's.

"I knew it, I knew he would do something to get revenge for me leaving him" she screamed "He won't get away with this, I'll kill him myself... I swear to God I'll kill him myself!"

"Jennifer, you need to calm down Darling."

"Calm down, how am I supposed to calm down, I've just seen that mad man with our little girl, the baby we thought we'd lost."

"Ok, I know you're shocked and upset, but if you don't calm down she might not be the only baby we lose. We have our little guy in there to think about too." He said rubbing his hand over her abdomen before taking her in his arms. He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him, her hazel eyes were full of tears which quickly spilled down her cheeks.

"Jonathan, please..." she pleaded with him "Please believe me, it's her, it's our Aubrey. I know you think it's just grief but it isn't." Jennifer lifted her hand and placed it over her heart "I carried her and I gave birth to her, I looked in to her sweet face and fell in love with her... I know she isn't dead. Please Darling, you need to do something. He's crazy, if thinks we're on to him he'll disappear and we'll never find her. You have people working for you all over the world, get someone there to watch him until we can fly to Kenya!"

"Jennifer, you can't fly to Kenya..." Jennifer switched from pleading with him to being furious with him.

"I can and I damn well will, with you or without you. Get something done about him Jonathan, I'm deadly serious." Jonathan knew by the way her eyes changed colour she was serious, they were almost golden like a lioness. Jennifer felt like a threatened lioness that had to do whatever it took to protect her cubs – both of them. "I won't do anything to put our baby in danger, but right now his big sister is out there in the clutches of that maniac and we need to get to her."

Jonathan didn't know what to think. He knew that Jennifer had never been convinced that their baby had died, but her ex boyfriend kidnapping her and raising her as his own was so farfetched that his rational mind couldn't process it. As he struggled to get his head around it Jennifer left his arms and headed to the phone, picking it up she called her agent Marcia.

"Marcia it's Jennifer, can you get a recording of the news report that's just aired about Elliot Manning? I know you have contacts at the network and I really need it couriered to the house as soon as possible, at whatever the cost. I can't explain why but please, it's an emergency." Marcia knew Jennifer well and understood from her voice that this was majorly important. "I also need to speak to the reporter, can you pull some strings for me... please Marcia?" Marcia confirmed that she'd sort something out and they disconnected.

Jennifer was the one in control now, she was being driven by an unseen force – a Mother's love. Jonathan watched her and knew that there was no way she was letting go of this so he had no choice but to go along with her. Part of him believed her but the other part needed hard evidence. She was right that she'd had a connection with Aubrey that he hadn't, they'd made their peace with what had happened in the months they were apart, but the truth was that he'd only known of his daughter's existence hours before she was born. Maybe that was why he didn't feel what Jennifer did.

Putting down the phone Jennifer turned to look at her husband. She loved him with all her heart but even that wasn't as strong as what she felt for her babies. She knew he would be trying to rationalise it but she didn't need him to think like an intelligent businessman, she needed him to think like a Daddy!

"Jonathan?"

"I'm on it." Was all he said and while Jennifer ran upstairs to pack some things he got on the phone to Frank, the Hart Industries Pilot and had him prepare a flight plan for Nairobi, telling him they'd be flying on to somewhere further in to the bush but he didn't know the exact location yet.

It took a couple of hours to get the recording of the show, and as Jonathan signed for it the phone rang and Jennifer answered. It was the reporter that they'd seen interview Elliot and she thanked him for calling. They talked about the location of the Wildlife Preserve and the little girl that Elliot claimed as his own. Jennifer told him that she was the child's Mother and that Elliot had taken her, all the while praying that he wouldn't think she was crazy. She didn't tell him Elliot was the child's Father, but much to Jonathan's devastation she didn't tell him he wasn't. Jonathan knew he was Aubrey's Father and he understood why she'd mislead the reporter, but it still hurt.

The reporter was aware of Jennifer's work and was also a client of Marcia's so he felt he should show her some loyalty. He explained where the Preserve was and he told Jennifer that he hadn't spent much time around the little girl as Elliot had been over protective of her, but that she seemed well looked after. He said she had red hair and blue eyes and was a beautiful little girl. He wished her luck in finding Elliot and getting her little girl home where she belonged, but warned her that there were a lot of corrupt officials in that area of Kenya and they should be prepared that Elliot had a lot of them in his pocket. 

The nearest Hart Industries employee to Elliot's compound was 4 hours away, and Jonathan knew if they contacted any US Government Agencies for help they'd be told to back off. He knew that wasn't an option, he also knew that Jennifer was relying on him to make this right but he couldn't do it on his own so he phoned her Father and had him call in favours from friends in high places who had connections in East Africa. Stephen Edwards was as shocked as they had been, and much like Jonathan he'd needed to be convinced, but he would do anything for Jennifer so he took a chance on her instincts.

The recording of the interview didn't show much of the little girl, and they didn't have any idea what their baby would look like now, but Jennifer was certain she was looking at her child. Her belief and her determination ensured Jonathan's motivation and within hours they were on their way. They had to fly to the UK first to re-fuel and then on to Nairobi so the whole journey would take at least 20 hours but fortunately with their own jet they had all the comforts of home and Jonathan hoped Jennifer would be able to relax knowing they were on their way, and that she would sleep for a good chunk of the journey. He was still concerned for her and their unborn child and he had no idea what they were facing when they got there.

Jennifer did manage to sleep off and on and while she did Jonathan researched Manning. She had been right that he had a reputation as a bit of a mad man, there were reports of violence and extreme behaviour going back years, and he'd once served a short jail term. He didn't seem the kind to forgive and forget so Jonathan could see that he wouldn't take kindly to Jennifer leaving him. The more Jonathan read the more angry he became and he was so engrossed in the files he'd been emailed that didn't hear Jennifer come up behind him and only realised she was there when she touched his shoulder. Turning round in his swivel chair Jonathan looked up at his wife. Despite her earlier bravado she looked frightened, sad and vulnerable and he reached to pull her gently down on to his lap. Jennifer put her arms around his neck and laid her head against his and Jonathan held on to her as her body shook with sobs. Taking a deep breath he swallowed the lump in his throat and rubbed her back gently. After a few minutes she stopped sobbing and Jonathan continued to hold her.

"Come on sweetheart, it's going to be fine. If the little girl Elliot has is ours then we'll have her back with us soon." Jennifer didn't react to the IF this time, her mind was on other things.

"Jonathan we'll be complete strangers to her, what if she's frightened of us? If he's been raising her he'll be Daddy to her. Getting her back is going to be hard enough, but once we do how do we deal with that?" She lifted her head and looked into his face. Jonathan didn't have the answers for her.

"I don't know sweetheart. I guess we just have to deal with it as it happens."

Their re-fuelling in the UK didn't take more than an hour and before they took off again Jonathan went out on to the tarmac and Jennifer watched from the window as a car pulled up and two men got out. Jonathan shook hands with them and after a brief conversation they followed him up the steps on to the aircraft. She stood up from her seat as they stepped in to the cabin and Jonathan introduced them to her as British agents that her Father had organised to accompany them. They took their seats so the aircraft could take off again and once they were airborne the three men started to discuss Elliot and tactics. Jonathan glanced at Jennifer and she stood up and excused herself to the bedroom. She knew she probably wouldn't sleep but she didn't want to hear about her former lover's strange behaviours and violent past. She lay on the bed and as she turned on to her side she felt the strongest movement yet from their unborn baby, she put both hands on her bump and spoke to the little one.

"Sweetie, you are very precious to me and to your Daddy, you've given us hope for the future after the darkest days of our lives. I promise I won't do anything to put you in danger, but I believe that your big sister is still alive and we need to do whatever it takes to get her at home with us where she belongs." The tears which hadn't been far away all day returned, but Jennifer continued to stroke her bump and talk to the baby, explaining everything that had happened to them. She knew that she was only doing it so she could verbalise her feelings but it did help and the baby moved all the time she was talking. Eventually she drifted off to sleep again and she seemed quite peaceful when Jonathan joined her a few hours later.

He dozed for a couple of hours then got up to prepare for landing. They'd been given clearance to land at an airstrip within a few miles of the compound, but not before Jonathan had parted with a considerable amount of money via his credit card. He hated to wake Jennifer up but he had to for landing and when he did he explained that they weren't landing in Nairobi but a few miles from the Wildlife Preserve. Jennifer's rollercoaster of emotions took another twist as she swung back to being angry and determined again. She was just a few miles away from her little girl, her first born child.

She knew that she shouldn't getting so keyed up but all those months of grieving and wondering were just too much and if someone or something didn't give her answers soon, she was going to wind up hurting herself, the baby and quite possibly a pain in the ass ex-boyfriend

Pacing in the hotel room after leaving the plane, Jennifer was anxious, although she knew she couldn't do anything at the moment she felt like she had to do something

"Darling, your going to make you and the baby sick if you don't stop for a bit" Jonathan said from the bed

"I know and I'm sorry but I just can't help it" Jennifer said

"Hey! Don't be sorry, We'll get through this together but i just don't want you to get your hopes up in case it's not Aubrey," Jonathan said hugging her

"It is her ..I know it is .." She said falling into his chest

"A mother's instinct," Jonathan said

"I feel like her heart is calling out to me..is that stupid? i mean she was barely a day old," Jennifer mumbled

"It's not stupid ..you know her better than anyone and She is calling out for both of us," Jonathan rocked her

"I know i didn't include you when we were talking to that reporter but i just felt so rushed and I didn't want that reporter to know what we are planning, I wanted him to think of it as a custody case...You are her father," Jennifer said

"I know Baby , I know what you meant," Jonathan kissed her forehead

They laid down in bed together, each one lost in their own thoughts

"Can you imagine what's it going to be like with a two year old and infant?" Jonathan

"Yes, Max better start childproofing the house when we get home ..We're totally unprepared for one baby let alone two," Jennifer smiled

"But it'll be great, we'll put up a giant swing in the yard and a tree house where we can camp with the kids and we'll take them all over the world, I want our kids to know this world really know it..I want them playing in the sands of Cairo and to view the Eiffel Tower and to Meet the Pope," He stopped when she kissed him

"I love you" She said "and thank you ..

"I love you too.." Jonathan said rolling her on her back, "but what are you thanking me for?"

"For being the most wonderful husband in the world.." Jennifer

"Speaking of Husbands ..you know one of these days we should probably get the license and make it official official" Jonathan kissing her neck

"I know but i think we've more than practiced for our real honeymoon," Jennifer laughed

They laughed and make love..

The next morning, they went to the police department to find out what they could do to get their baby back

"Hello my name is Jennifer Hart, this is my husband Jonathan and we're interested in getting some information on Elliot Manning," She spoke to a female detective at the front desk

"Take a seat for a moment and a Detective will be right with you," The officer said

They said nervously on a bench like two kids waiting to see the principal

"Darling, i think you better do all the talking.." Jonathan said

"Why?" Jennifer asked surprised that her husband, the self made millionaire was stepping back

"Because your in Mama Bear mode and I think it's better for you to speak for both of us ..." Jonathan said rubbing her back

She nodded and prepared herself

"Mr. And Mrs Hart?" a young detective named Jefferies came to the hallway and took them into his office

"How can I help you," He settled himself into his desk

Jonathan took Jennifer hand and squeezed

"Almost two years ago, our daughter was less than a day old was taken from the hospital by an Egyptian Man, who tried to flee and got into an accident, there was cause to believe our daughter was in the car with him but because the car was incinerated in the accident there was no human remains to be found and so we were lead to believe that our daughter was killed, however we have now cause to believe that she is alive and Elliot Manning has her." Jennifer stopped to take a breath

"Why do you think Elliot Manning has her?" Detective Jefferies asked

" Because a recent interview with Elliot showed him with a little girl with red hair and blue eyes, now Elliot Manning most certainly does not have red hair or blue eyes," Jennifer said

"But he could be married to a red haired blue eyed woman," The Detective pointed out

"Sir, do you have a VCR?" Jonathan piped up

"Yes, Why?" The Detective was curiously

"Play this and tell me that child on it does not resemble my husband or I," Jennifer's patience was down to nothing

He took the tape, looked at his watched and realized he had a department meeting so he promised to watch it and escorted them out of his office promising that if he did see the resemblance and after some minor research, he would get right back to them

"Darling, Let's go" Jonathan said taking her hand after thanking the man

She suddenly felt about 10 years old and exhausted even though it had been an hour

"Let's get you into bed, I don't want you or the baby to be completely stressed out," Jonathan kissed her forehead


	3. Midnight Vistors

_A/N All and Future Chapters were written with Co-Author Sarah3025_

Back at the hotel Jonathan led Jennifer up to their room. It wasn't luxurious but it was clean and comfortable. Jennifer sighed and sat down on the bed, things weren't moving quickly enough for her.

"Where are Paul and Connor?" Jennifer asked referring to the two British guys who'd come with them.

"They're enlisting some local help and checking out the compound to see who's there."

"You never mentioned them to the local Police." Jennifer mused

"Well you never know who you can trust...quite often NOT the Police" He explained and Jennifer nodded "You look exhausted darling."

"I am, but I don't want to be lying here sleeping, I need to be looking for our little girl."

"There are people out there doing that already but before we confront Manning we need to know how many people are with him, how they're armed and if the little girl is still there with him. We can't just go charging in."

"I know, but..."

"Jennifer, please, just a bit longer. We've been without Aubrey for two years, we can wait a few more hours." Jennifer knew he was right but they were so close it was torture not going to her. The sooner they got her out of there and back to the US they could start to get her settled in to their family before their new baby was born. Jennifer hadn't had time to think of how to cope if the little girl was distressed and she hadn't considered for a single second that she wasn't theirs.

"What do we do if he won't admit that he took her from us?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long would it take to have a DNA test done here?"

"Sweetheart I can't think about that just now. At the moment we need to know his movements and where she is, anything else we'll deal with afterwards."

It was after Midnight, Kenya time, when the phone rang in their hotel rang, they both jumped because everyone knows when the phone rings after 9pm someone's dead or tragedy has struck

"Oh my god ..Max? what if it's Aubrey? ," Jennifer said panicking and because she was startled so was the baby who picked that moment to start dancing

"Relax Darling," Jonathan said picking up the phone," This is Jonathan Hart, …Oh Detective, Sure come on up," Jonathan said putting on his robe

"What does he want?" Jennifer said sliding on her nightgown

"He didn't say .." Jonathan sat down on the coach

A few minutes, Detective Jefferies knocked on the door, look scared and disheveled

"How can we help you, Detective," Jonathan said letting him in and offering him some coffee

Jennifer came out of the bathroom and noticed that this guy was practically shaking

"Are you alright?" She asked concerned

"No I think I'm being followed …by some 200lb Gorilla, and I noticed when I left the Precinct that he slipped something under my car," Detective trying to calm down

"A Bomb?" Jennifer said locking eyes with Jonathan who suddenly became worried himself, what had they gotten themselves and their daughter into?

"No I think it's a GPS device It looks too small to be a bomb and besides I was able to take it out in the parking lot of the hotel without anyone noticing.." the detective said calming down somewhat

It helped that Jonathan had slipped him a brandy

"I may have some information about your daughter but I need a little information," Jefferies asked

"Anything," Jennifer said eagerly

" Do you have your daughter's birth and supposed death certificate?" The Detective asked

"Yes.." Jonathan went to his briefcase and pulled out the documents

"Alright, Aubrey Rose Hart born on March 15th, at 12:07pm and her death was March 17th..less than two days how awful," the Detective remarked," Well I've looked at the table and I do see a resemblance but the problem is that's not damning proof like DNA, So far all we've got to go on is the tape and the fact that no birth certificate was filed with Elliot Manning's name on it," Detective said, trying not to raise or deflate hope

"But you don't need a birth certificate for a home birth," Jennifer pointed out

"True, it's not much to go on regardless and I'm afraid with Mr. Manning's connections trying to establish he took the child out of the states will prove even harder because he can always claim she's adopted or that the mother gave up her rights," The detective said

"But how? You need file an adoption with the Court System, "Jonathan was frustrated

His next step would be to just go to the house and beat the hell out of Manning and take the baby back

"Elliot Manning has so many connections it would be easy for him to forge adoption papers and my biggest fear is if we make a move to get her, he'll take your baby and run..Our best bet is to find some loophole that will prove he took the baby ." the detective stood up

"What if I talked to him?" Jennifer said standing up also

"No Darling, you are not going anywhere near him .." Jonathan took on a serious tone so seriously that Jennifer took a step back

"Yes I agree with , it's in your best interest and your daughter's that you just let me see what I can do," The detective said his goodbyes and left

"Darling, why would you even consider going there," Jonathan asked the moment the door was closed

"Because I'm jumping out of my skin wondering if my daughter, Our Daughter, is safe, if she's being taken care of and I don't know what to do," Jennifer said wrapping her arms around Jonathan

"I know Baby I am too but I don't want you to risk all three of you getting hurt if we can go through another channel," Jonathan said kissing her head

"I know Darling and I'm sorry," Jennifer said gripping him as the baby danced inside her belly

"little guy's up kinda late isn't he," Jonathan said feeling the baby kicking

"Well all the excitement, I'm not surprised," And Suddenly They were dancing, it just came naturally like speaking or walking

He whispered in her ear, the song that was theirs …It was playing on the radio the first time they went on a date and it seemed so appropriate for them,

"Woman I can hardly express,  
>My mixed emotion at my thoughtlessness,<br>After all I'm forever in your debt,  
>And woman I will try express,<br>My inner feelings and thankfulness,  
>For showing me the meaning of success,<br>Woman I know you understand  
>The little child inside the man,<br>Please remember my life is in your hands

And woman hold me close to your heart However, distant don't keep us apart,  
>After all it is written in the stars,<br>Woman please let me explain,  
>I never mean(t) to cause you sorrow or pain,<br>So let me tell you again and again and again,  
>I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,<br>I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,  
>I love you (yeah, yeah) now and forever,<br>I love you (yeah, yeah)..."

She loved it when he sang to her, he didn't do it often unless he was being romantic or trying to make her laugh These moments together had been few and far between but when they did happen, it was like they were the only two people in the world

All the pain, the arguments whatever had happened before didn't matter and whatever would come next didn't matter as long as they had each other.

Over Breakfast, they were trying to get their minds off what was going on less than five miles from their hotel so they turned their attention to their unborn child

They didn't even consider girls names because they were so sure that this baby was a boy,

"What about Stephen after your Dad," Jonathan asked drinking his juice

"No, I want this baby to have an original name," Jennifer said biting on a piece of toast morning sickness was still an issue but it had lessened considerable, it may have had something to do with all the fresh Kenyan air

They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Jonathan went to answer it. Opening the door wide he let Paul and Connor in to the room before closing it and indicating for them to sit on the two chairs while he joined Jennifer sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Mrs Hart." Paul acknowledged her with a polite smile. His partner said nothing.

"What's new?" Jonathan asked

"Manning is there, he's been coming and going during the day, sometimes alone, sometimes with the woman who was visible in the interview."

"And the child?"

"We haven't seen her..." Paul said

"That doesn't mean she isn't there." Connor added looking at Jennifer. He felt so sorry for her after hearing the story, and he wished he could tell her they'd seen the little girl. Jennifer offered a weak smile of thanks and Jonathan put his arm round her.

"So what's next?" Jonathan asked.

"We've spoken to a couple of the locals about him, discreetly, and we think we can get help from someone on the inside."

"How much?" Jonathan asked. Connor shook his head.

"It's not like that Mr Hart. It's the woman he was with, we've been told she's there against her will. She apparently tried to leave a couple of times but then she was back and our source says she was covered in bruises both times."

"Oh my God, what if he's hurt our baby Jonathan..."

"Why would he sweetheart, she only knows a life with him and she's too little to be any kind of threat to him. He's kept her for a reason and it's likely that he's been following our lives waiting for the right time to taunt us. He'll have some kind of sick mind games planned."

"Your husband is right Mrs Hart." Paul spoke to reassure her.

"Does he have any idea yet that we're here?"

"It's possible, he's well connected and your visit to the Police station won't have gone unnoticed. We're going back out there in case he tries to flee. Mr Edwards has a team of guys watching but he wants us to be the ones to get him."

"We need to come with you." It was a statement that none of the men looking at her wanted to argue with although none of them thought it was a good idea for her to be nearby when it all kicked off. The two Brits looked to Jonathan and he took hold of Jennifer's hand.

"You trust me, don't you?" He asked her softly. Jennifer knew what he was going to say and she looked down at their intertwined fingers. "Guys could you excuse us for a couple of minutes please." Paul and Connor got up and left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Look at me Jennifer." She lifted her head and her tear filled eyes locked with his. "I know I let you down when you told me you were pregnant with Aubrey and I'll never forgive myself for that. I was scared at how fast it was all happening, I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. I'd never had a parent so I didn't know if I could be a parent. I've never been much good at talking about my feelings and I messed up big time. But I promise you I'm a different person now, being with you has changed me and I want nothing more than to be a good husband to you and a good Father to our children."

"You are a wonderful husband and I know you'll be an amazing Father..."

"Please trust me to do this without you then. I'd never cope if anything happened to you and the baby. I need you to stay here and be safe while we go and confront Manning. I can look after myself and we have excellent back up, but I need to know that you aren't in danger." Jonathan squeezed her fingers gently and after a moment Jennifer nodded.

"Ok Jonathan, I'll stay here. You go and get our daughter back from that mad man."

He Left with Paul and Conner and She was left with only her imagination running wild

What if somehow He got hurt? She'd not only lose her entire life, she'd have nothing to live for..

Except his son, her son, Their son ..She would ensure that this baby would live knowing what a courageous man he was and how he risked his life not only for her but their young family as well

Every scene she picked, just made her cry harder and she knew that she needed to speak to someone who could help

She called Max

"Hello Hart Residence?" Max answered

"Oh Max.." She sobbed into the phone

"What's the matter?" Max was immediately concerned he knew he should have gone with her to protect her especially since she was so fragile to begin but someone had to stay with Freeway

"I'm so scared, Jonathan's gone with Paul and Conner to attempt to get the baby back but with Elliot's past history of violence He could get them killed," Jennifer knew that getting more and more upset put stress on the baby but between the midnight visit from the detective and now Jonathan taking off Playing Indiana Jones, it really was too much

"I'm coming there now, I'm parking Freeway at the Spellings and taking the first flight to Kenya," Max was adamant but she knew because of his heart condition the stress alone could induce a heart attack

"No Max, I know you want to be here but I don't want you getting hurt as well" Jennifer secretly wanted to scream yes please stay with me I need you but she knew he couldn't handle what was going

"Then I'm going to jump on the Skype and hopefully one of my contacts knows something, I'll call you back," Max hung up

She was alone again…


	4. From one mother to another

After disconnecting with Max Jennifer took a long shower to try and distract herself from her dark thoughts, and when she came out she changed in to fresh clothes and sat down on the chair facing the door to wait, for however long it took. The baby inside her was moving and Jennifer sat with her hands protectively on her bump, wondering what was happening a few miles away and hoping Jonathan was safe. The way he'd opened up to her earlier had been a step forward for him and she hoped he didn't feel he had something to prove to her now, she knew that he missed Aubrey too.

Distracting herself didn't work and Jennifer's thoughts went back to the interview and the beautiful little girl in the film, Elliot's reaction when asked about her suggested that he felt uncomfortable about her being seen. He must have known it was possible Jennifer would see the footage and he would know she wasn't stupid and might guess who the child was. He also knew that Jonathan Hart had the resources and could hunt him down if he wanted to. Jennifer was beginning to wonder exactly why he was still there, where he knew they could get to him. Her thoughts were making her crazy and she decided she needed to get out of the room and go for some air.

Descending the stairs she had just started through the lobby when she saw him come through the glass doors at the front of the hotel, and she stopped dead. Elliot Manning. She felt as though all the blood in her body had frozen in her veins as he looked at her... and smirked.

Jennifer couldn't move but he walked towards her and she felt physically sick as she saw him appraise her, his eyes lingering over her swollen abdomen.

"Hello Jennifer, you look as lovely as ever." They were face to face now. "What brings you to Nanyuki? It's a long way from Los Angeles, especially for a pregnant woman."

Jennifer could feel both her fists were clenched and she made the effort to unclench them and drop her hands to her sides while she tried to think of what to say to him. He started talking again before she got the chance though.

"I can't believe that Jennifer Edwards, who always claimed she wasn't maternal, has suddenly turned Earth Mother, what's that, two kids in two years?" He pointed at her abdomen. The normally eloquent Jennifer was still lost for words, shocked to her core that he was standing in front of her. What she wanted to do was wring his neck with her bare hands.

"Oh come on babe, it's not like you to be so quiet, nothing to say to me?"

"You're a bastard Elliot, a cold, hard, heartless bastard." She was shaking with anger now and could feel her blood turning from frozen to boiling as he continued to smirk, mocking her silently.

"Well it's nice to see you again too!" He laughed

"We saw the news report on your Wildlife Preserve..."

"Oh, and you wanted to do an article on me?"

"I saw the little girl in the background."

"She's a beauty isn't she? She looks just like her Mom." He grinned and before Jennifer knew what was happening she felt her hand connect with his cheek as she slapped him hard enough to cut his lip and leave a red imprint of her palm on his face. And still he grinned, he was obviously enjoying her anger and confusion.

Just then the baby inside her gave a sharp kick and Jennifer took it as a sign that he was reminding her why they were here.

"Where is she Elliot?" Jennifer demanded

"Where's who Jennifer?"

"The little girl... MY little girl."

"I've no idea what you mean. Your kid died in an explosion didn't she? Isn't that why you're having another one now, to replace the one you lost?"

"Aubrey can never be replaced, and you know damn well that she isn't dead. Assad took her from the hospital but on your instruction. You stole our baby, mine and Jonathan's..."

"Yours and Jonathan's? I heard that he questioned Paternity and that you ran away from him to your old man's place at Hillhaven. How is Stephen by the way, still dating cheerleaders?"

"We'll get our daughter back Elliot, we won't rest until we do..."

"Your newborn was kidnapped then died tragically and now you're pregnant again, I understand that you'd be worried. Hormones and grief are a powerful combination." He still knew how to push her buttons and Jennifer had to summon up every ounce of restraint she had to stop from lunging at him.

"How long were you planning on keeping her Elliot? What sick mind games were you going to play on us? It can't be about money..."

"Look, I've tried to be understanding but you're the one who's playing a sick game with me, accusing me of kidnapping without any evidence. Where IS Jonathan by the way, abandoned you again when he found out you were pregnant did he?" Jennifer lifted her hand again but this time he was prepared for it and caught hold of her wrist, twisting it as he did. He moved closer to her and gripped her wrist harder. Jennifer winced but her physical pain was nothing compared to the pain of losing Aubrey and as her unborn baby kicked again she stared in to his eyes.

"I know that little girl is my daughter, and I know my husband will get her back."

"Not if he's over at the Wildlife Preserve looking for her he won't." Elliot grinned

"Why would you move her if you had nothing to hide?" Jennifer could feel the panic rising but she fought to stay composed.

"She's gone to visit family."

"We're her family, Jonathan and I, and her baby brother!" Jennifer told him blinking away her tears.

"Congratulations on the baby boy. I hope you'll all be very happy. Now if you'll excuse me I have someone I need to meet. It was nice seeing you again Jennifer, give my regards to Jonathan and your two British friends!" Elliot smirked and walked away from her.

"Elliot," She called after him and walked over to him, "I want you to remember this, when I get my baby back I will kill you"

Jennifer wanted to go after him but the rollercoaster of emotions had left her exhausted and she dissolved in to tears instead. She stood in the foyer and cried until a woman passing through the lobby stopped and asked if she could help. The woman was American and looked vaguely familiar but Jennifer didn't have the strength to think where she recognised her from, she was just relieved to hear a friendly voice and she let herself be lead to a chair.

"Thank you." Jennifer whispered as the woman handed her a tissue and took a seat opposite her.

"Are you ok?" The older woman asked.

"Not really no, but it's a long story. My husband should be back soon though so if you need to go I'll just sit here and wait for him."

"I've nowhere to be in a hurry, I'll wait with you for a while, I don't want to leave you when you're so upset."

"I appreciate that, thank you."

"Can I get you something to drink? Non alcoholic obviously" The woman smiled

"Just water please." Jennifer told her companion.

"No problem, I'll be right back." The woman stood and went to the bar returning with a tall glass

Jennifer greedily drank it

"Oh thank you," Jennifer said clutching the glass," I'm sorry I'm spacing out but you look so familiar to me,"

"Well I should hope, Jennifer ..It's me Pearl, Pearl Bailey?" Pearl said smiling

"Oh my god Pearl!" It was one of Jonathan's favourite clients he was forever talking about how she was a trailblazer in the industry and how she was a tough old broad

Having buried eight husbands, she was currently one of the 10th richest widows in the world, it was a common rumour that when Gloria Vanderbilt needed a loan, she went to Pearl.

"I'm so sorry, My mind somewhere else," Jennifer tried to smile but the tears were evident

"I heard, Jenny ,I'm so sorry," Pearl said standing up and giving Jennifer a hug," Come with me, We need to get you cleaned up"

Pearl took Jennifer up to her room, washed her face and brushed out her hair

Sometimes even Mama needs to be babied

While Pearl was taking care of Jennifer, she poured out her story from the beginning to running away after telling Jonathan she was pregnant to the delivery of their beautiful daughter to the car crash and the video and now her confrontation with Elliot

"What if he hurts my baby?" Jennifer whispered

"Oh Sweetheart, She's alive, you've always known that and that's the most important part if he wanted her dead , he'd have made sure she was in that car..you are going to get your daughter I promise," Pearl stated

"Why are you being so kind to me, I mean we've only met a few times and your treating me like I'm your daughter," Jennifer said curiously

"I had a daughter, she was my light and when she was three, she contracted Leukaemia and within three months was gone, I thought I would never recover and would give anything to have my daughter back, it's the least i could do..From one mother to another," Pearl smiled sadly

"I'm so sorry I never knew," Jennifer felt so badly for Pearl to lose her daughter that way

"We've all got pieces of our past that we keep to ourselves," Pearl said leaning back against the bed

Jennifer just laid down in her lap

She had forgotten what it was like to have a mother, to have someone to share with her fears, someone who knew what it was like to have a child and to understand her fears

"Sweetie, what is it your most worried about?" Pearl asked stroking Jennifer hair

"That she won't know us and that she'll be angry with us," Jennifer said quietly

"Why would she be angry?" Pearl asked

"Because it's my fault Elliot took her," Jennifer let out one year of tears and frustration

"How do you figure it's your fault, you did nothing except bring a beautiful baby into the world," Pearl was reassuring

"But what do I do when she asks why there are no baby pictures or video of her first two years," Jennifer sniffled

"Oh Sweetheart, Pictures don't matter as long as you make sure you tell her that every moment of every day she was gone that you thought nothing except her and her little face," Pearl continued stroking her hair

"Pearl," Jennifer asked quietly,"Can I ask why you didn't have any more children?"

"Because I couldn't bare to lose another child that way and to me, After Cass died there was no other that could equal the love I had for her," Pearl tried not to cry..

"Do you think I made a mistake in having another baby," It was a lingering doubt that she had never shared with anyone, especially with Jonathan

"No, my darling girl, this boy was meant for you..he was searching his mommy and found her.." Pearl was adamant

Jennifer was so comfortable and finally at somewhat peace, that she fell asleep

About an hour later, She heard the door open and Jonathan walk in

"Hey Pearlie, " He greeted Pearl

"Charlie, long time no see," she said kissing his cheek

"How's our girl doing?" Jonathan stood back and admired what he thought was her sleeping profile

"She finally fell asleep, I think Max was right when he sent me," Pearl said stroking her hair

Max, my angel, Jennifer thought ..

"Well I hate to wake her up but I may have some information," Jonathan said reaching over to shake her but it was useless

She popped her eyes open and sat forward

"Tell me what's going on," Jennifer demanded

"Well I cased the joint with the boys and Jefferies, the place is under heavy guard but not impossible to get in, Jefferies went in claiming to be an Insurance Sales Man, looked around but there was no trace of Aubrey or the other woman but he did managed to find a stuffed animal.." Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed

"A stuffed animal?" Jennifer was curious

"Yeah It was a stuffed lion sort of beat up like how a child would mishandle it and so he took it to the ME for possible DNA match but we won't get that for a few days."

"That's good I guess," Jennifer felt deflated

"Here's where we may get her even sooner though, Jefferies pulled a few strings with Narcotics and Their going to do a drug bust tomorrow night, they have to toss the place so even if she's been moved, there may be some other clue," Jonathan said taking her hand

"Why a drug bust?" Pearl asked

"Well let's just say, Jefferies left a few kilos of presents behind," Jonathan shrugged," Now when the bust goes down, I'm going with them.."

"So am I," Jennifer said

"Jennifer." Jonathan started to say something but was cut off

"Jonathan I've sat back and waited, and waited, enough is enough I'm going with you end of discussion," and with that Jennifer went to the bathroom

"I'll go with you two to make sure she's safe," Pearl Whispered

"Your the best" Jonathan smiled sadly


	5. The Raid

He had spent the better part of the night convincing her to stay at the hotel, he couldn't stand the thought that she was willing to risk everything, their lives and the life of their unborn child as well as their daughter, by being at the raid, he tried convince her that he would have more peace of mind knowing she was here at the Hotel with Pearl but she was adamant, it was either she goes with him or neither of them go and they wait until the police allow them inside the house.

She didn't tell him that in the event they were both killed and the thought was terrifying, that if their daughter was found alive and returned to the US, she would be in the Custody of Max until she was 18 or until Max passes away then she would go to her father's house in Maryland, Jennifer supposed she could have made arrangements for Aubrey to live with her aunt in Paris but her aunt was pushing her late 60s and had never really raised a kid, she had called Max while Jonathan was out getting dinner and told him that this was her last will and testament, although She and Jonathan had a joint will. Max was upset at the idea but he carried out her wishes, he wondered without trying to make her upset what if she were killed but if the baby somehow survived, would he go along with his big sister home to Willow Pond?

Of course, she answered, their children would raised together not in mourning of their parents but in celebration of their love they shared.

The next day, Jonathan didn't really speak he was so quiet, Jennifer wondered if he was mad at her insistence of going there but he had to know she couldn't stand by and allow this to continue on further, It was time. This wasn't about her lying or him being afraid for her safety and their baby's

It was about the fact they weren't given the chance to raise their daughter, that they were forced to go halfway around the world to get her back when she should have been playing in the sandbox and accidentally breaking one of her mother's knickknacks on the mantel like an ordinary two year old, it was about knowing that for one year they had to go about their lives constantly wondering how this could have been prevented, how could she as a mother not realize that Elliot Manning had been planning something , It's a mother duty to protect her child and damnit if she wasn't going to stop now.

"Darling," Jennifer broke the silence," I know your mad at me, but I need to do this,"

"Darling, I'm not angry at you for this , I'm angry at myself," Jonathan took her hand

"Why?" He had no cause to be angry at himself he was had nothing but be completely supportive and wonderful

"Because if I hadn't overreacted when you told me you were pregnant and you hadn't gone to Maryland, our daughter would have been born in Los Angeles where she would have been kept under constant supervision," Jonathan started to cry

"Oh my darling, I think regardless that he could have grabbed her when we were at the playground or god forbid school, there would always be some sort of opportunity and we can't raise our daughter in a shell," Jennifer wrapped her arms around him and let him cry

He'd been so brave for her, constantly picking her up when she fell that it was his time to grieve and allow her take care of him

That was what their marriage was based on, picking each other up when they start to fall to know that no matter what happens, they would have each other

The love they had for each other would surely radiate to their children.

After all they were conceived in love

He cried for a while longer while she held him and suddenly he started kissing her

"Darling, are you sure," She wanted to like he did but she thought that since he had been vulnerable just a few moments ago he wouldn't want to

"Yes Darling I need you," he whispered

It wasn't just about sex or lust for them, it was about the connection how two people who love life and each other become one and how through this awful tragedy stay as one

The next 24 hours passed so slowly and by the time the following evening came Jennifer's nerves were frayed and she was exhausted. Jonathan was determined that she would stay in the safety of the hotel with Pearl and Jennifer was equally determined she wouldn't. So they compromised. They drove out towards the Wildlife Preserve together then Jonathan left Jennifer and Pearl in the car with a Police Officer in view of the compound, whilst he and the others went in.

Before he left her Jonathan took her hands in his and looked in to her eyes.

"I promise I'll be careful and do whatever I can to find a way to that little girl, but you need to promise me that you'll stay here with Pearl and not try anything risky." Jennifer felt a flash of anger that he referred to her as 'that little girl' and not 'our little girl' but looking at his expression she knew in her heart he would pursue this as though he was searching for their daughter. Whether he was only doing it for her sake or not... he would do it.

"I promise Jonathan." She nodded and he smiled at her.

"Good. I love you."

"I love you too." She told him lifting her hand from his to touch his cheek.

A second later the car door closed and he was gone. Jennifer felt Pearl's arms go round her and she relaxed in to her embrace and gave in to the overwhelming emotions.

As Jonathan followed Stephen's team and the local Police his heart was pounding and he wasn't sure what he was most afraid of, a violent confrontation or Jennifer's disappointment if they didn't find the child. She was so convinced that Elliot had taken their daughter and after hearing what happened between them in the lobby of the hotel he was more convinced that she might be right. He wasn't certain why he had been less sure of it than she had, maybe he was trying to protect himself from more hurt if it turned out not to be true. He wasn't proud of the way he'd reacted when Jennifer had announced she was pregnant with Aubrey and although she said she understood and forgave him, and he was a different person now, that guilt would always haunt him. He was determined to get proof for her so that either way they could get on with their lives and welcome their little boy in to a happy family.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind Jonathan watched and listened to the detective leading the operation, as they gathered just outside the locked gates of the Wildlife Preserve. The house was visible a few hundred yards in and they knew it would all have to happen fast so they could get there before those inside knew what was happening. The gate was electronic but the ex Special Forces guy that Stephen had hired was able to get it open pretty quickly, and they were in.

Jonathan had been told to stay back when they charged the property, and he did. It happened as fast as he'd anticipated and there were two shots fired and sounds of a violent struggle, but as it was dark he couldn't see what was going on. Jonathan took the opportunity to carefully move a few feet forward and as he came round from behind a large tree he bumped in to a man coming the opposite way, startling both of them. There was a lot of shouting from behind them and suddenly the security lights came on and the whole area was flooded with bright light.

Jonathan came face to face with Elliot Manning.

Elliot didn't display the same bravado he had with Jennifer, he knew Jonathan Hart was capable of taking him apart if he was mad enough. Jonathan saw the brief flash of fear in Manning's eyes before he straightened himself up and smirked at him.

"Well well, you did come with the little woman then. How on earth did she persuade you to go to these lengths Hart? This is a pretty extreme thing to do to an innocent man."

The thoughts were whirring in Jonathan's mind as he tried to decide what to do, he wanted to smash Manning's despicable face in but he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop once he started and if he didn't stop they might never find the little girl. Elliot sensed Jonathan's conflict and took a step backwards but all that did was make Jonathan's snap decision for him as he moved quickly and grabbed him.

He was oblivious to all the commotion going on at the house as he spun Manning around and threw him up against the tree with his arm across his throat. Jonathan knew he had the upper hand when it came to physical strength but it was his mental strength he needed to count on now.

"Tell me who the little girl on the film is, and what you've done with her." He said calmly as he released the pressure on Manning's windpipe

"Like I told Jennifer yesterday, she's imagining things. Her I can understand, grief and hormones... but you should know better Hart. Or are you just trying to make it up to her for questioning the kid was yours?" Jonathan stared at him, he could feel his blood pumping as he tried to keep control.

"I guess me being your wife's ex lover makes me easy to dislike, but why in the hell would I kidnap your child and then raise her as my own? I don't even like kids for God sake!" Elliot spat.

Jonathan heard another gunshot ring out, this time much closer, and from her seat in the car down the road so did Jennifer.

"You need to get us in there!" She instructed the Police Officer who'd stayed with them. "Please!" She pleaded.

"My instructions were to stay with you here Mrs Hart."

"Well either you take me or I'll get out and go on foot myself. I'm serious!" Pearl looked at her and nodded to the officer.

"Do as she says, it's safer if we go together."

Back inside the compound the Police and special agents were taking control, an officer and one of Manning's staff had been shot and when the rest of his security staff saw they had nowhere to run to they quickly realised it would look better if they co-operated, and since they believed Manning had escaped and left them to it, none of them were prepared to die for him now.

Both Jonathan and Elliot had been momentarily distracted by the loud gun fire but they soon resumed their standoff.

"You have nowhere to go, Manning, you're going to be busted anyway so why don't you just admit what you did with our baby."

The car with Jennifer and Pearl in it pulled up in front of the house and Jennifer was out as soon as it stopped. There was still a lot of commotion but Police officers and agents were leading Elliott's men from the house and they had the situation totally under control. The first person Jennifer recognised was Connor and she shouted to ask where Jonathan was. Connor turned and stared at her, knowing how mad Mr Hart would be when he found her here. Pushing his charge in to the back of a Police vehicle he walked across to Jennifer.

"I haven't seen him Mrs Hart but he'll be mad as hell if he finds out you're here in the middle of all this!"

"I heard shots and I was going crazy wondering what was happening and if he was ok."

"Two guys were shot, a local Policeman and one of the compound security men."

"Oh thank god. So where do you think Jonathan is then, inside?"

"I've no idea, but that's where the Chief of Police is, I passed him on my way out."

"Ok, thanks Connor." Jennifer headed past him and up the steps of the house with Pearl a step behind her.

"Tell me where the child is Manning!"

"No, I don't think I will. You won't kill me, because if you do you'll never find her." Jonathan knew this wasn't going anywhere and he also knew Jennifer was depending on him finding the child so he changed tact.

"Ok. We both know that the child you have is Jennifer's and mine and we took something from the house that belongs to her, so Jennifer and I have given samples and when we have a DNA match there will be no point in you denying it anymore." Jonathan took a step backwards but continued to stare in to Manning's eyes.

"That's all very nice, but that won't help you find her, she's a long way from here now thanks to your visit to the local Police. Not very smart of you I have to say!"

"Well we weren't thinking with our heads, we were thinking with our hearts!" Jonathan told him.

"That's sweet... You know Hart, your wife was the best lover I ever had." Elliot grinned "She had a great body and she knew how to make magic with it." Jonathan could feel the bile rising in him. "I wanted to marry her. She was good for my image as well as my libido and my old man adored her, thought she would make me in to the decent guy he always wanted me to be."

"So when she turned you down then later met me, and we were getting married, you came looking for revenge?"

Just then a male voice called to Jonathan and Connor appeared a moment later.

"Mr Hart your wife is here, she went in to the house looking for you..." Jonathan was distracted by thoughts of Jennifer and Elliot seized his opportunity and made a run for it.

"Connor, catch him... alive!" Jonathan yelled as he ran in the direction that Connor had come from and saw the house ahead of him.

The Chief of Police finished explaining to Jennifer that he hadn't seen Jonathan and that he was busy dealing with a large consignment of Cocaine that had been discovered. Frustrated she looked around her and when she couldn't see her husband she began to walk through the house calling his name. It was a large open plan ground floor and she couldn't see him as she walked through.

"It doesn't look like he's here sweetheart." Pearl touched her arm to get her attention.

"He must be here somewhere Pearl. I just need to keep looking." Jennifer carried on and they got to the back staircase so they both headed up, passing another agent coming down with a woman who looked local and very bewildered.

At the top of the stairs Jennifer looked both ways then walked to the left, all the doors were open and the first room was a man's bedroom by the look of the furnishings. The second room was another bedroom and then there was a bathroom. Jennifer turned round and looked in to the room opposite and she felt Pearl's arms go around her as she almost dropped to her knees. It was a child's bedroom and it was painted pale pink. Jennifer moved forward in to the middle of the room and looked around, gasping as she saw the large framed photograph of herself on the wall.

"Oh Jesus." She heard Pearl say as she saw it too.

Jennifer felt the room start to spin and she quickly moved towards the bed and sat down at the bottom putting her hand on the bed guard to steady herself.

"He's been stalking me for years," Jennifer whispered

"Honey I think we need to get out of here, it's clear Jonathan isn't here and there's no one else," Pearl tried to lead her from the bedroom

"I guess you're right," Jennifer started to stand up but she heard something

"Darling, I thought I told you to stay back," Jonathan came rushing into the bedroom

"Hush, I hear something," Jennifer said

They were silent for a few minutes

"I don't hear anything," Pearl broke the silence when what sounded like music from a music box was heard

"Where's the music coming from," Jonathan was certain he wasn't losing his mind if they all heard it

"It sounds like it's coming from the floor," Pearl looked down

"The Rug!" Jennifer got down on her knees, which isn't easy at six months pregnant and started clawing at the rug

"Hey Guys! Come here!" Jonathan yelled to some detectives that were ransacking the second living room," I need you to pull up a carpet"

The men walked in and immediately noticed the pregnant woman trying to lift the carpet while Jonathan and some old lady stood by helplessly

"We'll get it up M'am," One of the detectives came forward and started to lift it but realized why she wasn't making progress, it was either glue or nailed down

"I need some scissors," the other detective ordered into his walkie talkie

"I've got manicure scissors!" Pearl said reaching into her bag, they were small but at least they could start because at this point Jennifer was clawing at the rug and neither of them knew what do to

Jonathan tried to get her to stop but she wouldn't listen

"There's something under here, Can't you hear the music," Jennifer said to the detective

"I hear it," the detective taking the scissors and making tiny cuts until a rookie detective came in with a bigger pair

They cut along the middle making careful cuts so if they needed to test for fingerprints later on they could

And soon the room was filled with police

Jonathan knew that he should get her out but knew that whatever she had heard was something he shouldn't miss

The rug was cut and pulled up to reveal some sort of latch, thank god one of the detectives had the sense to grab a tool kit with bolt cutters, they broke the lock and pulled up what looked like a sewer grate to reveal some stairs

"Stay back, Ma'am," The Detectives ordered Jennifer back and this time she agreed

They helped her up and over to the bed while the others went down the stairs

Jonathan held onto her hand and squeezed

A few minutes later, a Detective named Hamilton poked his head out

"I think you better come see this," He suggested to Jonathan and Jennifer

Pearl went along because she was intrigued

They walked slowly down the stairs to reveal a long corridor, about 50 feet to their left was a windowless bedroom, with a cot a radio and a playpen where a small child was lying

Jennifer timidly stepped to the side of the playpen and closed her eyes before looking down

Into the blue eyes of a little girl like her daddy and with bright hair like her Mama


	6. Lost and Found

The little girl was silent as she looked up at Jennifer and for a moment nobody moved. Jonathan stepped closer and the child's gaze moved from Jennifer to him then back again. Jennifer's instincts were screaming at her to pick the little girl up but she didn't want to frighten her so she decided to take things slowly. The Police and agents all looked at each other and every one of them walked back down the corridor. Pearl put a hand on each of their shoulders then took a few steps back in to the corner of the room.

Jennifer was desperate to touch her little girl but she turned her head a moment to look at Jonathan.

"Look at her and tell me what you feel." Jonathan looked at the little girl, relieved that she didn't look ill treated or scared. He knew what Jennifer meant though and as his blue eyes met a pair of identical ones he felt the love flow through him like an electric current.

"I feel like her Daddy." He whispered and Jennifer nodded.

The little girl decided that as neither of the grownups were going to make a move then she'd do it, so she pushed herself up into a sitting position then got to her feet. Jennifer was caught off guard at how quickly she moved and realised they had a lot to learn about parenting a toddler! Aubrey smiled and put her hands up and Jennifer thought her heart would burst it felt so full.

"Up Mama!" She instructed Jennifer, much to everyone's amazement, and in a split second she was in her Mother's arms for the first time since she was a few hours old, as Jennifer lifted her from the playpen and held her close. As she held her baby girl against her she felt the baby inside her move and then felt Jonathan's arms around her, and at that moment in time life was perfect.

At one point Pearl appeared with a chair and Jennifer sat on it with the child on her lap. Whatever reaction they'd expected from her it certainly wasn't her calling Jennifer Mama and being so relaxed with them all. They were all a bit stunned and they sat for a bit mostly in silence until Paul and Connor both appeared back.

"Sorry to disturb you but I think it might be a good idea to get out of here now." Paul spoke. They knew a good job had been done but they wanted to leave the place to the local Police to seal off and deal with.

"We need to get some things for her." Pearl said "I'll go up to her room and see what I can find, she'll need familiar things around her."

"Thanks Pearl" Jonathan said, and then turning to the two agents he asked "Either of you know how to fold this playpen up?"

While the guys dismantled the playpen Jonathan looked at his wife and their daughter. Aubrey was sitting contentedly with her head against Jennifer's chest and her little hand draped across her bump, while Jennifer had tears running down her cheeks and a serene smile on her lips.

"We need to get out of here sweetheart." Jonathan told her.

Jennifer nodded and Jonathan knelt down in front of her, slowly reaching out to touch Aubrey, aware that she might shy away from him. She didn't though, she just looked at him curiously and when he took her hand in his she smiled at him. She wasn't scared of him and that filled him with hope, they had a long way to go but that was a good first step.

The next step was to see if she would let him hold her as he'd need to carry her up the narrow staircase back in to her bedroom and then out to the car.

"We're going out in the car now so we need to go back up the stairs. Can I carry you and Mama can walk in front of us where you can see her?" He spoke softly and looked at her as he did and after a moment she nodded and sat up, Jennifer released her hold on Aubrey and he slowly reached over and lifted her from her lap.

Immediately the child looked over Jonathan's shoulder at Jennifer and she stood up from the chair and smiled at her.

"Its fine sweetie, Mama is coming too." She said feeling her legs start to shake as they moved towards the stairs.

Jennifer went first and Jonathan was right behind her, their daughter in one arm and his other arm around Jennifer's back as she climbed up. Pearl was waiting at the top and took Jennifer's hand as she stepped back in to the room which had been their daughter's bedroom.

"I got a bag from under her bed and put a few things in it. I'm sure you'll not want to keep any of it but it'll do until you get her home. Apart from some clothing and diapers there are a couple of toys, a blanket and a book but she doesn't appear to have much stuff here."

"Thanks Pearl." Jonathan said as he put one arm around Jennifer and lead her out of the room and down the stairs to the waiting car.

A short while later they were back at the hotel and as it was late Jonathan saw Jennifer and Aubrey in to their room then left them with Pearl and went in search of a cup of warm milk for the little girl. It was only when he was on his way back with it he wondered if she liked milk, or even if she was allergic to it. They really had a lot to learn about her and he hoped they didn't make too many mistakes along the way. He'd feel much better when he had them on the plane headed for home but first there would be Manning to deal with and they'd need to contact the US Embassy to get a passport for Aubrey which considering she was registered as deceased might have to wait until either Manning admitted kidnapping her or until they had the DNA results. Tomorrow was going to be a long day but it was the first day of the rest of their lives as a family.

Jennifer had no idea whether the little girl was potty trained or not but she'd had a diaper on at least for bedtime so she had changed it for a dry one and Aubrey had let her do it without complaint and when Jonathan got back they were both sitting on the bed and Pearl was on a chair.

"I'm not sure if she'll like milk, but I guess she needs something more than water to drink. I didn't know if she would be hungry so I got her some cookies..." Jonathan told them. Aubrey looked at him noticing what he was holding and she put her hand out.

"Cookies!" She smiled and Jonathan walked towards her and handed her one which she took and bit in to. Jennifer took the warm milk from him and as they didn't have a toddler cup she held it and let Aubrey take a sip, looking to Pearl for reassurance that she was doing the right thing. Pearl nodded and Aubrey took a few more sips before returning her attention to the cookie.

Milk and cookie finished, Aubrey yawned and rubbed her eyes. Jennifer lay down on the bed and Aubrey lay beside her. Jennifer reached across and gently stroked her soft red curls and as Aubrey's eyes closed so did her Mommy's.

Pearl got up and walked over to Jonathan, wrapping him in a hug she kissed his cheek and whispered

"Good night Jonathan... See you in the morning."

"Good night Pearl and thank you for everything."

Jonathan closed the door behind Pearl and turned the lock. He got ready for bed and within moments he was lying beside his wife and daughter trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the last few days. None of it made sense though and one of the most puzzling things was how comfortable Aubrey was with them, particularly Jennifer, it had thrown him completely when she'd called Jennifer Mama.

He watched them for a few minutes, Jennifer's body was spooned around Aubrey's and he smiled at how beautiful they both looked. Jonathan left the lamp on in case Aubrey woke up and was scared and after a few minutes he too was asleep.

The next morning, Jennifer decided to take Aubrey to the hospital just to make sure there wasn't any physical damage, long term psychological would have to wait until they were back in Los Angeles, Jonathan decided to go over to the police department to make a statement and file charges against Manning as well as to get the DNA test results which were made available as well.

Getting a toddler dressed is a whole different experience

The clothes Pearl had grabbed were one size too small and were stained

"What did he do to you, Baby," Jennifer whispered pulling out a purple shirt

"Mama, look!" Aubrey reaching out for the shirt and pulling it over her head

"You really are a big girl, aren't you?" Jonathan said watching from the bed

"Show Mama and Daddy what else you can do," Jennifer asked out of curiosity, what had Elliot taught their daughter?

She bobbed her little head for a minute thinking,

"The ABC song and spidey song Ooh and and humpty yup yup humpty!" She laughed

Everything they should have taught her

"Baby do you know your name," Jennifer asked remembering how she was called by a completely different name on the video

"Angela Jennifer Manning," She spoke with certainty

"No Baby, your name is Aubrey Rose Hart," Jonathan said kissing her head

"Nopies it's Angela," Aubrey insisted

"We'll just call her Aubrey and hope it sticks," Even thought Jennifer was crushed; the beautiful name they had chosen had been overridden by a psycho

"Mama, why you look sad?" She twisted her head to the side

"Oh baby I'm just so happy to have you back," Jennifer hugged her daughter and as soon as she let go she realized her daughter had peed herself and all over Jennifer as well

"Oh Mama I sorry I sorry!" Aubrey began to cry hard

"Why are you sorry, we'll just give you a bath, won't that be fun?" Jennifer tried to drum up excitement

"What's a bath?" Aubrey asked

"You've never had a bath?" they answered at the same time

She nodded her little head

"Well are you in for some fun," Jennifer stripped her daughter While Jonathan ran the water and threw in some bubble bath

"When we get home, we have a big tub with lots of toys that you can play with," Jennifer said kneeling beside the tub and washing her daughter's hair and after a few minutes of scrubbing not realizing how dirty she was, they saw she had more freckles across her face and that she had a birth mark on her left shoulder blade

She also had what looked like a little surgical scar behind her head and a few bumps and bruises on her knees

They exchanged worried looks but continue to plaster smiles on their faces

They pulled her out of the tub after letting her splash, soaking them as well as the floor and after Jonathan ran to the holiday lobby, got a "I heart Kenya t-shirt" and a pair of striped shorts just to get her through the day before they could hit the Wal-mart later

They each got re-dressed and Jennifer left with the baby

She was suddenly nervous, she had never been alone with anyone's child especially her own what would she do if Aubrey suddenly threw a fit? Could she really discipline her kid after all that she had been through because her mentality was Aubrey could burn down the building and she'd be given a new Barbie and a solid alibi.

They took a cab to the hospital leaving Jonathan their rental car and Jennifer didn't even bother with the stroller, it was a pain in the ass so she left it in the hospital hallway and rode to the paediatric floor with Aubrey on her hip 

"Where we go, Mama?" Aubrey asked watching the people around her

"We're going to the doctor's to make sure you're nice and healthy," She said kissing Aubrey's head

"Ooh Mama, can I play with those?" Aubrey pointed to the toys in the corner

Not in your life Babe," Let's see the doctor and maybe afterwards we can," Jennifer said then speaking to the receptionist briefly explaining what happened and was told to take a seat

"Mama,I want to play!" She tried to wiggle down but Jennifer wasn't having it

"No Aubrey, We have to wait for the doctor," Jennifer was struggling, she had just gotten her baby back and who knew if she put her down in a crowded hospital if the baby would be snatched again

"Mama No! " Aubrey yelled

Five minutes into this parenting thing and she was already screwing up

Thank God they were called into the doctor's office

"Hello I'm Doc Walter," a slightly older man came in after a few minutes of waiting and unclenching his instruments from her little fists

"Hello I'm Jennifer Hart and this is my baby, Aubrey ..I need her to have a check up please," She briefly explained what happened, by now it was second nature

"Sure," He briefly examined her eyes, nose and ears and when he tried to look down her throat with his light, she chomped down it and refused to let go

"Baby you have to let go," Jennifer said sweetly

They tried everything to get her to release but nothing until the doctor offered Aubrey a lollipop her little mouth opened and she released the light from her teeth

"Well she's seems healthy and feisty, which for a two year old is normal is" the doctor said leaning back on his chair

"I wonder though is she going to have long term effects of the kidnapping?" Jennifer said

"No I think as long as you remain consistent with everything, she should slide into being a regular two year old just make sure she gets plenty of sunlight and a chance to destroy some toys," Doc Walter smiled

"What about shots?"Jennifer asked as Aubrey finished her lollipop and started to fidget again

"Well we can give her a shot now that'll do until you get back to Los Angeles and she gets up to date," the doctor went to the phone and called the nurse

"Also We're concerned if she might have allergies to certain foods but i guess that will have to wait as well," Jennifer said watching Aubrey paw through her purse now

"Yes I'm not so much concerned about her based on what I've seen but I am concerned about you, all this stress you've been under ,I'd like you to be checked out," the doctor said as the nurse came in

"Alright," She agreed because the baby inside her had been somewhat quite, not taking the kicks to the ribs he had before

"We have to hold her down," the nurse said

As soon as Aubrey saw the nurse bring in the tray, the smile left her face and she tried to make a break for the door but her mother was quicker and grabbed her by the shorts, instead of holding her down on the table, they figured it would be easier to do it while she was standing up, Jennifer held her arms and the nurses held down her legs so she wouldn't kick the doctor

"Ready 1 2 3," the doctor put the needle in and Aubrey howled like she was being murdered, she tried to speak but she was crying so hard it was coming out , "'Mooma Mooma!" and proceeded to climb up her mother's shirt when the nurse released her legs

"Alright, Baby, Alright," Jennifer was secretly glad her daughter was so quick to go to her even if she had to suffer for it

After Aubrey stopped screaming, twenty minutes later, Jennifer went down to the Ultra sound department to get a sonogram

"Mama, whatcha doing?" Aubrey said snot dripping down her little face

"We're going to get a picture taken of your baby brother," Jennifer said stopping to wipe her face

"Baby brother?" Aubrey asked

"Yes my little love," Jennifer said excited to see the baby and to show Aubrey as well

They were taken into a dark room with a video monitor and a keyboard

Jennifer saw Aubrey's eyes light up at the sight of the keyboard and quickly distracted her with her cell phone

She laid down on the chair and lifted up her shirt, her bump had grown considerably in the last few days instead of looking chunky, She definitely looked like she was pregnant

"Hullo," the tech walked into the room, barely acknowledging either Jennifer or her child, "Let's get started," She gel on Jennifer stomach and didn't even ask if she was alright when Jennifer sucked in her breath from the cold gel

She quickly used the scanner and soon the baby was projected onto the screen

"Oh my god, he looks like he's sucking his thumb," Jennifer watched as the images swirled and flickered

"You know it's a boy?," the tech asked

"Not really but we've been calling, him a him for the last few months, Aubrey come here and look," Aubrey toddled around to the front of the monitor and watched

"That not a baby!" she announced

"Well not yet," Jennifer smiled

"Hold on, " the tech suddenly looked concerned and typed a few things onto the keyboard

"What? Is there something wrong with my son?," Jennifer was so exhausted from stressing out that another thing would just bottom her out..

The tech didn't say anything just continued staring into the monitor

A few hours later

Jennifer had gotten Aubrey to take a nap after eating a small lunch and running around hotel's courtyard for a bit when Jonathan came in

"Hi Darling, how was your day?" Jonathan kissed

"Long..how did everything go at the police station," Jennifer said leaning back against the bed waiting to tell him what the tech had told her

"Elliot's still in the wind but we can go back to Los Angeles anytime," Jonathan said taking off his tie

"That's great," Jennifer started to speak when she noticed a piece of paper in his pocket

"What's that?" Jennifer pointed to his coat

"I got our DNA results back," Jonathan said stopping


	7. Home at last

Jennifer had absolutely no doubt that the results were just a formality, but she wanted Jonathan to read them to her anyway. She looked from him to their sleeping child and smiled, lying on her back with her head tilted upwards she looked just like her Daddy when he was asleep, and that had to be genetic. The red hair and freckles and the cute nose were her, the blue eyes, long eyelashes and the dimples were Jonathan. Jonathan looked down at the little girl and then lifted his eyes to meet Jennifer's.

"Read them out to me Jonathan."

"They did a trio test where all three of our samples were used."

"It's more accurate." Jennifer stated and Jonathan nodded before taking the paper from his pocket and unfolding it. He looked at it for a moment and Jennifer couldn't quite read his expression. He took a deep breath and read her the information.

"They did a 37 marker test and she was a 99.99+% match to us both." Lifting his head he looked at Jennifer and smiled at her. "Proof positive."

"I never doubted it." Jennifer told him.

"I know you didn't, and I'm so sorry that I did."

"That doesn't matter now, what matters is that we can get her passport and get her home where she belongs. We all have to go to Nairobi to the US Embassy, I made an appointment for tomorrow. We'll take our documents, Aubrey's Birth Certificate and these results. I called my Father and he's spoken to the Ambassador Scott Gration to make him aware of our circumstances. Hopefully we'll be on our way home tomorrow night."

"I'll warn Max that we need serious child-proofing done for this little lady." Jonathan grinned "He won't know what hit him when we get back!"

"We have a lot of adjustments to make." Jennifer reached across and gently smoothed Aubrey's hair back from her face, smiling as the little girl stretched and turned on to her side. "Two babies in the house... poor Max." Jennifer mused as her eyes met Jonathan's. He smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Well Aubrey isn't really a baby, she can do a lot of things herself, I think she's going to be a little Miss Independent when she gets settled in at home."

"Jonathan..."

"Yes Darling?" he looked at her

"I wasn't talking about Aubrey when I said two babies."

"No? What were you talking about then?" Jonathan was confused and Jennifer leaned across to take his hand, placing it on her abdomen she put her hand on top of his.

"Two babies Jonathan... twins." Jonathan was silent and Jennifer continued "When I was at the District Hospital with Aubrey I told the Doctor the whole story and he said he'd send me for an ultrasound to make sure the little guy was fine after all the drama, and since we missed the one at home we were due to go for. The Sonographer thought there might be a problem with the measurements and I panicked thinking something was wrong with the baby. Turns out he's perfectly healthy and developing normally... just like his brother!"

Still Jonathan was silent and Jennifer wasn't sure what was going through his mind. She was elated and scared all at the same time, from no children to 3 children all in the space of a few months was going to be a challenge. Aubrey adapting to life with virtual strangers was something they were going to have to invest time in, they would have to cram two years in to two months to have her settled before her brothers arrived. Jennifer knew Max and Pearl would provide practical help, and they could take Aubrey to be assessed by a Child Psychologist, but most of it they'd do themselves by just spending time with her and loving her. She wasn't quite two so she was young enough to forget her early life.

"Jonathan, are you ok?" Jennifer couldn't read him, he'd continued to keep his hand where she'd placed it and as she watched him she knew he could feel their sons moving under it.

"Amazing..." He said softly "You're amazing Jennifer." He looked up at her. "Everything you've been through and you want to make sure I'm ok."

"Of course I want to make sure you're ok, everything I've been through, you have too!"

"Well I'm fine, and I'm going to do my very best to look after all of you. Starting now." Jennifer looked questioningly at him and he smiled. "You lie down and have a rest and when Aubrey wakes up I'll take her out for a little while."

"Are you sure you'll be ok with her?"

"I'll do my best, and if all else fails, there's always milk and cookies." He smiled and Jennifer did what she was told and lay down.

Jonathan checked his emails and made a call to Max and to Frank their Pilot whilst his girls slept peacefully, and he was sitting on the chair an hour later planning their itinerary for the following day when he looked up and made eye contact with Aubrey who was lying watching him.

He smiled at her but sat where he was waiting to see what her reaction was. She didn't seem to mind him being around but so far she had been more interested in Jennifer and interacting with her. After a moment Aubrey looked at the sleeping figure of her Mommy then returned her gaze to Jonathan.

"Mama is sleeping Aubrey." He told her, using her real name and watching her brows knit as she frowned slightly, looking so like Jennifer it made him smile.

"Sleeping...sshhh!" She put her finger to her lips before sitting up

"Would you like a drink Aubrey?" Jonathan asked her and she nodded her head, before he knew it she'd slid backwards across the bed and slowly and expertly dropped herself to the floor.

Getting up from the chair Jonathan took a carton of apple juice and pulled the straw from the side, opening it and putting it in to the carton whilst she watched him. He handed it to her and said thank you, which she repeated back to him and he smiled at her as she drank it. Pearl had told them to get the little cartons reassuring them she'd be old enough to know what to do with them safely, and aside from squeezing the carton a little hard and having some of the juice ooze on to her fingers, she did fine with it.

After her drink and a quick freshen up Jonathan asked Aubrey if she'd like to go outside and she looked across to Jennifer who was still sleeping.

"We'll let Mama sleep for a while, you and I will go and get a nice surprise for her, she loves surprises." Jonathan told her as he held his hand out to her. Aubrey hesitated a moment and looked back at the bed, then she turned back to Jonathan and when he smiled at her again she reached up and put her hand in his.

They walked down the stairs slowly as Aubrey wasn't yet able to alternate steps, something that Jonathan guessed was normal for her age, and he made a note of it as he had no idea about a toddler's development.

Once outside they took a little wander along the street and Aubrey seemed quite happy to potter along, pausing every so often to look in shop windows. Grinning to himself Jonathan thought the female love of shopping must be part of their genetic makeup! They carried on down to the little open air market and Jonathan took hold of his daughter's hand again as they were surrounded by people buying and selling produce.

"I think Mama would like some flowers from Aubrey as a surprise." Jonathan told her as they walked to a stall selling beautiful local roses. The lady on the stall was making them up in to bouquets and she stopped to say hello to them.

"What colour will we get for Mama?" Jonathan really wanted to refer to Jennifer as Mommy, but there was time for that, Aubrey obviously knew the word Mama and attributed it to Jennifer so he didn't want to confuse her too much yet. "The pink ones are nice."

"Pink flowers!" Aubrey looked at the flower seller and flashed her a winning smile, one that Jonathan recognised, and he gently lifted her in to his arms so she could get a closer look at the roses. She didn't object so he moved forward to give her a better view of what the stall holder was doing.

"Pink flowers for your Mama, no problem. I'm sure she will love them if you and your Daddy have chosen them for her." Aubrey turned in Jonathan's arms and looked at him with the mention of the word "Daddy" but was quickly distracted again when the lady started gift wrapping the flowers. A few minutes later they were on their way back to the hotel, Aubrey clutching the flowers and Jonathan carrying her.

Back up in their room Jennifer was still asleep and Jonathan and Aubrey put the flowers in the bathroom to keep them cool. Then they went over to the armchair where Jonathan lifted Aubrey up on to his lap and sat to read her a story from the book Pearl had found in her room. As he got farther in to the story Jonathan felt Aubrey relax against him and she helped him turn the pages.

That was the scene that met Jennifer as she woke from her nap and it filled her with joy to see the two of them together.

They had an early dinner after Aubrey had presented Jennifer with the roses, then they bathed Aubrey together before getting her ready for bed. Jonathan read her another story and this time they put her in the playpen to sleep which she didn't seem to mind. They'd gotten extra bedding to make it comfortable for her and had given her the blanket they'd taken from Elliot's which she cuddled in to.

When Jonathan and Jennifer got in to bed they both lay and watched her. Jonathan knew Jennifer would rather have had her sleep with them, but she seemed fine where she was and nobody was going to harm her here in the hotel room with them.

"Frank is picking us up at the airfield at 8 and we should be in Nairobi at the Embassy before 10. I told Pearl to meet us at 7.30 in the lobby. Paul and Connor are already on their way back to the UK."

"They were amazing, I hope they don't feel too badly about Elliot escaping. He obviously had hidden tunnels and passageways all over the compound."

"They'll still help the local Police and hopefully he'll turn up at some point, he can't hide forever."

Jennifer turned on her side trying to get comfortable and Jonathan spooned himself around her, holding her in his arms. Leaning across he kissed her cheek and whispered to her

"I really do love you Mrs Hart."

"And I really do love you Mr Hart." She smiled sleepily.

"Do you know what the first thing I'm going to do when we get home is?"

"What?"

"Get us a marriage license!" He told her "One baby out of wedlock is bad enough, never mind three!" Jennifer laughed at his serious expression.

"We better do it while I can still walk down the aisle without looking like a penguin."

"You got it sweetheart!"

A short while later they were all asleep and didn't wake until 6am, to the sounds of Aubrey shouting on her Mama.

Jennifer shot up from the bed, startling Jonathan as well

"Baby, what's going wrong?" Jennifer scrambled across the room to the playpen

"I hungry!" Aubrey announced

"I may not live to see her third birthday!" Jonathan groaned then cowered back under the covers

"Why don't you come up to the bed with Daddy and Me and go back to sleep," Jennifer picked Aubrey and plopped her on the bed and slid back under the covers

She immediately fell back to sleep across Jennifer's belly

A few hours, Jennifer woke up to find her daughter had made her into a hammock

"Aubrey, baby you've got to move," She whispered try to get her off without waking Jonathan

"Mmm," Aubrey clicked her tongue as her mother got up and put her in between them

Unfortunately, Aubrey picked that moment to move her little legs in Jonathan direction' and nail him square in the crotch

"I'm up I'm up! Oh god!" Jonathan rolled off the bed, his eyes watering

Jennifer laughed hysterically but their daughter never budged

"I'm glad your happy, we may never be able to re-produce again," Jonathan said trying not to scream

"Three children under the age of four, not a problem," Jennifer said going into the bathroom

Jonathan picked himself off the floor, muttering "I better invest in a cup," and followed her

They washed up and were getting dressed when Aubrey finally woke up

"Mama," She whined," I hungry!"

"Alright we'll get breakfast as soon as you get dressed," Jennifer stopped struggling to her shirt over her head

This pregnancy stuff is for the birds

"How about if Daddy gets you dressed while Mama packs up our things?" Jonathan suggested

Aubrey shrugged as if to say, "I don't care who dresses me as long as there's food,"

Pearl had dropped by late last night, while the girls were sleeping and had brought some clothes for her, She didn't stay long just long enough to give her two favourite girls a kiss and Charlie one too

He was never Jonathan to her, He was always Charlie and being one of his favourite people, Jonathan didn't care

He put her in a pink shirt and a pair of green overalls, to which Jennifer had to hold her to tongue to ask if he was color blind but she knew he was proud of himself so she let it go besides who is going to comment on a two year's clothes?

Aubrey had enough hair to put in two low pigtails, she looked like a tougher version of Pippi Long stocking

Jennifer finished packing and organizing, all the while thinking of the organization she'd have to have when it would come to having three children

It was enough to stress anybody out

"Foood" Aubrey chanted

"Alright we'll eat now, my god you act like you've never eaten before," Jonathan chuckled picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder

"I wouldn't do that," Jennifer said remembering how delicate some children's stomach are

"It's Daddy job to tough up the child" He swung her around

"Jonathan, I would stop!" Jennifer closed her eyes when she heard the sound of a gagging and laughing child

Aubrey projectile vomited all over Jonathan

"Oh god!" Jonathan dropped her on the bed onto her head and ran into the bathroom

"Baby are you alright," concerned that that they'd had this child for less than four days and so far she'd had a tantrum in the doctor's office, been given a shot and now being dropped on her head, Jennifer kept waiting for child services to beat down the door

Aubrey absent mindly wiped her mouth and said "Can I have pancakes,"

"Let's get you cleaned up," Jennifer was sure she was going to pee herself laughing when she heard the shower running

"Wait," She marched into the shower, opened it and tossed their child into the shower with him

"Hey! Wanna make it a threesome and join us," Jonathan laughed

"Not on your life Buster, that's how we wound up with three!" Jennifer said going through their bags and finding new clothes for both of them

After they were finally dressed and out the door, they ate a quick breakfast and went down to the embassy

"Hello my name is Jonathan Hart, We have an appointment at 10," Jonathan told the receptionist

"Sure thing it'll just be a few minutes, have a seat," The reception smiled

"Darling, will you watch her while I go to the bathroom," Jennifer said handing their daughter to him and leaving

She returned a few minutes later to find her daughter hysterically crying and Jonathan looking helpless

"What happened?" Jennifer was concerned

"She thought she could fly off the chair and made an unfortunate landing on the floor," Jonathan said

"Oh my poor baby, come here," Jennifer scooped her up and Aubrey sniffled throwing dirty looks at her father like he should have know better than to let her fly

"Mr. And ?" an older woman called them

"Yes!" Jonathan helped Jennifer up because there was no way Aubrey was letting go now

"How can I help you?" a name plate read Patty Duke

Jonathan had to refrain himself from singing the Patty Duke theme, and Jennifer felt the same way

"We'd like to get our daughter a passport to take her home to Los Angeles," Jennifer said as Aubrey fidgeted

"Well, How did you get her here to Kenya without one," Ms Duke asked

"Well, you see," Jennifer started but then cut right to the middle man," She was taken from us and now we'd like to get her home,"

"Alright, Well I need her birth certificate, some sort of proof that she's your child and both your passports," Ms Duke asked

Aubrey chose that moment to state she'd had enough, "Mama let's go! Mama!"

"Baby we have to wait just a little while longer," Jennifer hushed her before pulling out her cell phone to allow her to play with

"I'm assuming your going through the adoption process," Ms Duke asked over Aubrey's babbling

"Why? She's our biological child" Jonathan asked

"Because she's considered a Kenyan resident and Kenya requires all children leaving from here without a Kenyan birth certificate to go through the courts, and have a 30 waiting period as well,"

Jennifer was helpless, she just wanted to go home

"Look, We've spent the better part of seven days here, my wife is pregnant with twins and needs to go on bed rest and I won't have her stressed out, is there some way to go around this loophole?" Jonathan pleaded

"I'm sorry but that's procedure, "Ms Duke handed back the documents

"Jennifer, take Aubrey out of here," Jonathan ordered

She wordlessly took their daughter out while Jonathan conducted business,

It was their agreement that had made early on, she'd never interfere in his business and he'd never borrow her razor blades

It's more of a chick thing...

After a half hour of playing hide and seek inside the US embassy with several interns and one diplomat, Jennifer was feeding Aubrey some chips when Jonathan came back

"Let's go," Jonathan said and after looking into his eyes, she didn't say a word just picked up their daughter and walked with him

"What are we doing?" Jennifer asked

"Something illegal and stupid, don't ask why" Jonathan said taking Aubrey from her and walking faster to the car

Suddenly Jennifer caught on to what they were doing

They were kidnapping back their own kid

They didn't speak until they were on the tarmac of the airport

"Jonathan, what's going on?" Jennifer asked

"Darling, we've lost and gained our daughter, there is no way in hell I'm going to adopt her when she's proven by the medical examiner to be ours besides it's going to only give Manning more Satisfaction and it's time for us to go home and live our lives, "Jonathan said holding their now sleeping daughter

Jennifer didn't say anything, just kissed him on his lips

They boarded Hart One and got comfortable, Jennifer in the back with Aubrey resting and Jonathan up front doing his paperwork he'd neglected for the past two weeks and before they knew it, they were cruising at 10,000 feet

"Mama, my ears," Aubrey whined waking up about an hour later

"Ooh, why don't you have a lollypop?" Jennifer said remembering you shouldn't give a kid under 4 gum

She took the lollypop and rested in Jennifer's lap

"I have something i've wanted to show, do you want to see?" Jennifer asked reaching into her travel bag and pulling out a photo album

"What that?" Aubrey asked her blue eyes following her mother's movements

"It's pictures Mama took for you to see," Jennifer opened the album and pointed out each picture," that's our house and our backyard, when we get home Daddy's going to build you a big swing set and we have a pool,"

Aubrey looked at each picture of her mama, her daddy and what her mama called Grandpa Stephen and Her Pop Max, she was curious about knowing about each person

"Ooh boy, doggy!" Aubrey squealed when she saw the picture of freeway, Jennifer realized how much she missed his furry little face

"That's our doggy, Freeway!" Jennifer said

"Freeway!" Aubrey repeated

"Maybe someday soon, Daddy will get you your own doggy," Jennifer said kissing her daughter's head

Aubrey slid off her mother's lap and toddled to where her father was typing

"Daddy?" She looked up at him with her blue eyes

"Yes Baby," He stopped and picked her up

"Will you get me a doggy?" She asked snuggling up to him

"Of course!" She was his baby, he'd give her the moon if it were possible

"a big doggie!" She smiled

"Hmmm big enough to eat you!" He tickled her and made her squeal

Jennifer smiled and sat down across from Jonathan, her belly sticking out and the babies dancing

The next few hours passed in a blur, in order to keep their two year old from losing her mind, they put on a children's DVD which held her interest for a bit until it was time for lunch and a nap then they played games until it was nap time again

Consistency is a must

After her second nap, they were at a loss of what to do, the photo album wasn't holding her interest neither was the DVD and if they kept feeding her she'd be a pudge before they landed

So Jennifer came up with the idea of logging onto Jonathan computer and playing a few computer games and one of the pilots, knowing a two year old was on board brought out a ball and they tossed it back and forth

For another five hours, by the time the plane landed, everyone was exhausted and miserable

"Daddy I'm tired!" Aubrey whined

"I know baby we all are," Jonathan said lifting her from the chair

"I want Mama!" Aubrey yelled

"Mama's busy making sure we have everything, now just relax we're almost home," Jonathan was dangerously close to his temper

"No!" Aubrey was stubborn, definitely a Hart trait

"Little girl, I'm warning you," Jonathan said he would never hit her of course but the threat was hopefully going to work

None, She stuck her tongue out at him

Jonathan tried not to laugh at her

"Are we ready?," Mike, one of the pilots and a Hart driver asked

"Yup," He threw Aubrey over her shoulder and into the car, she giggled at him

Jennifer realized that once they were in the car, they didn't have a car seat

Kidnapping and now child endangerment just fabulous

It didn't matter as soon as the door was closed, Aubrey laid across them and fell asleep

Jonathan took Jennifer's hand and squeezed, happy to be with her and to be in Los Angeles

It was nearly a half hour ride to Willow Pond and when they passed through those big white gates with the H on them, it suddenly it hit them

They were home.


	8. Shopping with a Toddler

As the car crossed the little bridge and the house came in to sight the front door opened and Max came out followed by Jennifer's Dad, and by the time the car pulled up they were each waiting to open a door.

Jennifer and Jonathan were exhausted and emotional and all they wanted to do was get Aubrey settled and get some rest. They'd lost track of how many time zones they'd crossed and only knew what the local time was because there was an LED clock in the car announcing in bright green that it was 10.02pm. They both painted on smiles though as they knew how worried Max and Stephen were, and they owed them both a debt of gratitude for helping in the operation to find Aubrey and get her home.

As Max opened the door next to Jennifer, Aubrey opened her eyes and looked up at him. Max smiled at her and after a moment she sat up, then to his surprise she climbed from her Mother's lap and held her hand out to him to help her out of the car. Max took the little hand in his and as he turned to look back at the Harts they both saw the tears in his eyes. Max, who didn't do feelings or emotions much, was moved to tears by a two year old who'd just put her trust in him without ever having met him before. Jennifer shook her head and smiled realising that Aubrey was probably going to surprise them for the rest of their lives.

Jonathan got out of the car and shook hands with Stephen then they both walked round to help Jennifer. Exiting the car she straightened up and noticed the surprise on her Dad's face when he saw her baby bump.

"We have lots to tell you Pa, but most of it can wait until the morning." She smiled and accepted his embrace. "How long are you staying?"

"As long as you need me here my darling."

"Great. Come on inside and meet your granddaughter."

Stephen followed Jennifer inside and in to the living room where Aubrey was sitting on the sofa pulling her sneakers off and dropping them on the floor.

"Aubrey, this is Grandpa... he's my Daddy." Jennifer told the little girl. She tilted her head to one side and looked at the elderly man beside her Mama. "Do you have a hug for Grandpa sweetie?" Jennifer asked.

Aubrey continued to look at Stephen and then shook her head and lay down flat on the sofa.

"She's tired Darling, she'll be fine in the morning." Jonathan said to ease Jennifer's discomfort at Aubrey ignoring her Father. "Max, Stephen, please excuse me while I take my girls upstairs and get them settled in to their beds, then I'll come down and we can talk."

"Sure thing Mr H. I'll go and make some coffee, would you like something to eat?"

"Cookies!" Aubrey shouted from the sofa.

"No more cookies for you young lady, it's time to clean your teeth and get you to bed." Jennifer smiled and reached to take Aubrey's hand. For a moment she didn't move, then she sat up and propelled herself off the sofa and took hold of Jennifer's hand.

Jonathan went upstairs with them and they got Aubrey washed and in to a t-shirt of Jennifer's as a nightshirt.

"We need to go and get her a whole new wardrobe of clothes tomorrow." Jennifer said as she watched Jonathan help Aubrey with her toothbrush, smiling as she screwed her face up at the strong toothpaste. "A whole new everything I guess..."

"We have Max and Pearl to help with that, we'll do a list tomorrow of what we need in order of priority. Right now though my priority is getting you two tucked in to bed."

"I'll have her in beside me for now Jonathan. We can get her bedroom organised tomorrow."

"Ok, that makes sense." He agreed.

Jennifer went to get ready for bed and Jonathan lifted Aubrey up to kiss her goodnight before pulling back the covers and placing her in the middle of the bed. He sat on the edge a moment and looked at her, knowing this was how life should be, his whole family at home where they belonged. As if she sensed the magnitude of what he was thinking Aubrey moved across the bed towards him and stood up so they were almost eye level. Jonathan put his arm around her to steady her and she leaned over and kissed him on his forehead. Neither of them saw Jennifer standing in the doorway watching, with a single tear running down her cheek.

Jonathan went back downstairs once Jennifer and Aubrey were settled in bed and he spent a couple of hours catching Max and Stephen up with everything that had happened, and he thanked them both for all the help and support they'd given them. He thanked Stephen particularly for all the strings he'd pulled and all the favours he'd called in.

It was late and they were exhausted so they all retired to bed, knowing the next few days were going to be hectic. Max took a call from Pearl who said she was home and going to bed and she'd come over tomorrow.

Jonathan walked through the double doors in to their bedroom, Jennifer was asleep lying on her side and Aubrey was lying like a starfish taking up a lot of the remaining space, he hated to move her but he had to so he could get in to bed. He slid her over towards Jennifer slightly and then got in and lay on his side facing her. Closing his eyes he'd just started to relax and drift off when he felt Aubrey move so he lay really still. A moment later he felt her little fingers on his cheek and heard her whisper "night night". He whispered it back but didn't open his eyes and soon they were all asleep.

They awoke to a beautiful bright morning, and a beautiful bright Aubrey climbing down off the bed with a purposeful look on her face. Aware that they had no safety gates installed yet Jonathan sat up and spoke her name and she turned to him.

"Where are you going?"

"For milk!" She stated

"Ok but you need to wait for me, you don't know where to go." Jonathan told her as he got out of bed and put on his robe.

A couple of minutes later they appeared through the kitchen doors and found Max already in there with Freeway at his feet. The dog stood up and watched the little girl carefully, he wasn't used to small people, but surprisingly Aubrey seemed used to him and she walked to him slowly and held her hand out so he could sniff it. It wasn't what Jonathan had expected her to do, but then he thought that she'd lived on a Wildlife Preserve so was probably taught how to behave around all animals. Soon she was clapping Freeway who seemed quite happy to be around her.

"Will I make some breakfast Mr H?"

"Please Max..."

"Pancakes. Please" came the little voice before Jonathan could finish his reply.

"If the little lady wants pancakes then that's what she'll get." Max said smiling at her. Aubrey smiled back, the winning one, the one that made her look like her Daddy.

"I'll get you some milk." Jonathan told her before realising they still didn't have a cup for her and doubting they had any straws. But Max appeared with a Disney Princess toddler cup and unscrewed the lid as he took it to the counter and lifted the milk carton to pour some in. Jonathan raised his eyebrows questioningly and Max nodded in Aubrey's direction.

"I picked up a couple of things from the market yesterday, a cup, bowl and matching plate and cutlery."

"Thanks Max." Jonathan said gratefully

"Thanks Max." Aubrey repeated as he screwed the lid on the cup and handed it to her.

By the time Stephen appeared Aubrey was eating her pancakes. She was sitting on Jonathan's lap as she was too short to sit at the table without a booster seat. He said good morning but Aubrey carried on eating and paid him little attention. Jonathan wondered what he could do to encourage her to show some interest in Jennifer's Father, then wondered if it might be wise just to leave it for now. She came round to him quickly so hopefully she'd be the same with her grandfather, Max on the other hand seemed to be a fast friend from the word go, maybe she knew about his fabulous pancakes – and homemade cookies!

Jennifer woke up to an empty bed and for a moment she panicked, but as she took in her surroundings and remembered they were at home she relaxed. She lay on her back and rubbed her hand over her abdomen, feeling her boys moving. She was going to call and arrange to see her OBGYN and have another ultrasound to make sure everything looked ok.

A toddler then two babies... she smiled to herself imagining what their sons would look like and then took a deep breath and let it out, realising how much hard work it was going to be, parenting three under 3's. Financially they had more money than they would ever need so getting all the equipment they required for their children would be the easy part.

She thought back to the day that Aubrey was born, and how she'd felt looking down in to her precious face for the first time. Nothing could ever have prepared her for the strength of feeling she had for their daughter, it was instant and unconditional. Having that ripped away from her was the hardest thing imaginable and being unable to convince herself that Aubrey was dead had just prolonged the torture. Even when they'd decided to try for another baby it had taken every ounce of strength she had to deal with the conflicting emotions, and to be positive that this time their baby would be fine and would be coming home to Willow Pond and to a happy family life. As well as dealing with her feelings she'd had to help Jonathan deal with his guilt and when soon after losing Aubrey he'd suggested they get married properly, she couldn't do it because it felt like the wrong reason. Now she wished they had because it felt wrong having children and not being married to their father in the eyes of the law, it felt wrong that on their Birth Certificates her last name would be different to theirs. There was so much to do in the coming weeks but top of her list after getting Aubrey settled was getting married. She loved Jonathan deeply and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and she wanted their children to know that they'd made a full commitment to being The Hart Family.

Jennifer smiled at the thought of being part of a family of five, and just as she was thinking about getting up the double doors in to the bedroom were pushed open and Aubrey wandered in closely followed by Jonathan bearing a breakfast tray.

"Pancakes Mama!" Aubrey announced as she climbed up on to the bed.

"Thank you sweetheart." Jennifer said taking in her daughter's appearance which included a serious case of bed-head and a very sticky face. "Did you have pancakes too?"

"Yup!"

And did you have syrup on your pancakes?"

"Yup!"

"Well I think that after my pancakes you and I will have a bath together in the big tub before we go out shopping." Aubrey tilted her head to one side, something Jennifer had noticed her doing a few times, and seemed to think about the idea of shopping.

"New shoes Mama!" She announced and Jennifer laughed

"Did Daddy tell you to say that?" She asked her eyes meeting Jonathan's, knowing her liked to tease her for her love of nice shoes.

"Daddy said, new shoes!" Aubrey laughed too and the sound filled Jennifer's heart with joy.

"Daddy will buy you as many new shoes as you like. But first we need to let Mama eat her pancakes."

"Okay dokey" Aubrey agreed and sat back against the pillow next to Jennifer as Jonathan placed the tray on her lap.

Jonathan filled the big square tub in the master bathroom with warm water and bubbles and helped Jennifer climb in first then lifted Aubrey in once she was settled. Jennifer knew that she wouldn't be able to do this easily by herself in a few weeks as the babies grew and she felt more awkward, so she wanted to enjoy it while she could.

Jonathan mentally added bath toys to the ever growing list of things they needed as he watched Aubrey play with a shampoo bottle, then as it popped in to his head he told Jennifer

"Pearl will be over shortly, she's going to stop and get a car seat on her way so that we can all go out later."

"That's great, she's been amazing! "

"Oh and Max seems very pleased that she'll be spending time here!"

"Cookies, Max!" Aubrey shouted and they all laughed, cookies were her favourite food, just like they were her Daddy's.

Pearl arrived just as Jonathan had taken a squeaky clean Aubrey, wrapped in a big fluffy towel, downstairs leaving Jennifer to finish her bath. Max had washed and dried the clothes she'd travelled home in but Pearl handed Jonathan a bag with a pack of 4 pairs of fruit of the loom panties, a double pack of t-shirts, one plain and one floral, and a double pack of matching shorts, and a couple of pairs of plain white socks.

"That will do her until we get to the stores later. I didn't know how Jennifer would like to dress her but these are cute and practical for now."

"Thank you Pearl, to be honest I didn't really want to see her wearing anything from Kenya ever again, but she can't go out in one of Jennifer's t-shirts so these are great."

"Max and Mr Edwards are trying to fit the car seat in to your station wagon. I think I'll go and check what they've done." Pearl grinned and headed back outside leaving Jonathan to dress Aubrey.

"Come and see what Pearl brought for you to wear."

"New shoes?" The little girl asked flashing the smile that melted his heart.

"Not yet sweetie, Daddy is going to take you and let you pick your new shoes. Whatever colour you like the best."

"Pink shoes!" She told him as she lifted her arms and let him put the plain t-shirt on her, then he helped her in to her panties and the floral shorts and finally the white socks.

"You look very pretty." He told her, and she nodded and climbed up on the sofa next to him

Everyone was ready to go when Jennifer came downstairs so they sat at the table in the kitchen and discussed who was going where. They decided that Stephen would stay at the house and make calls to ensure they weren't pursued by the either the Kenyan government or their own for taking Aubrey without documentation. Shopping wasn't something he ever did so it was better he avoided it!

"Max, I wondered if you and Pearl would mind going and picking up Aubrey's bed and bedding, a couple of safety gates and some other things if we give you a list?" Jennifer asked them

"Sure Mrs H, whatever you need." Max said quickly.

"Do you have something particular in mind Jennifer?" Pearl asked

"Not really Pearl, whatever you think is nice for Aubrey. I trust you." The two women smiled at each other and the older woman nodded.

"I'd be honoured."

"Thank you!... Max maybe you'd like to take Pearl upstairs and show her Aubrey's Bedroom, we'll put her in what was going to be her nursery and the boys can have the bigger room down the corridor. That's always been her room and I don't want to change that."

"No problem Mrs H." Max stood up and waited for Pearl to follow him, and as they passed the key hook by the kitchen door Max lifted a set of keys. The Nursery had been locked up for almost two years, he went in to dust and vacuum and air it when Jennifer was out, but apart from that nobody had been in the room.

"So, what's first on our list then? What do we need to buy for Aubrey" Jonathan asked

"New shoes!" Piped up the little voice.

"First stop clothes and shoes then Daddy." Jennifer got to her feet and took Aubrey's hand as they headed out to the car. The new Graco car seat was ideal for Aubrey and she looked very comfortable in it. They drove to a children's wear shop that they had passed many times and it was only when they got there Jennifer realised she had absolutely no idea what size to buy. She released the harness on the car seat and after Aubrey got out she checked the label on the t-shirt Pearl bought as it was a pretty good fit, just slightly big. The label said 3T so she figured that was a good size to start with.

An hour later they left the store with a whole selection of outfits and separates, along with more underwear and socks, pyjama's and a fleecy bright pink hooded robe that Aubrey fell in love with. The store didn't specialise in shoes but they recommended a store a couple of blocks away that would measure Aubrey's feet and get her kitted out with whatever she needed. Jennifer figured she'd need shoes, sneakers and sandals at least.

Jonathan groaned when he saw the store, it was full of different types of shoes and he knew that if Aubrey was anything like her Mother he'd have a long wait as they decided what to buy.

"Daddy can sit here." Jennifer indicated to a chair at the door "and we'll come and get him when it's time to pay." She winked at Jonathan who smiled gratefully and went to sit down. Almost immediately a pair of purple tennis shoes caught Aubrey's attention and she had to be coaxed to have her feet measured first with the promise of getting them afterwards.

Jennifer was true to her word and along with the tennis shoes they bought sneakers, a pair of more formal shoes and a pair of floral Birki's. Despite the climate being lovely in Southern California, Jennifer also picked her daughter up a pair of Chestnut Ugg boots, just because they were cute.

They stopped for lunch and they all had sandwiches, Jonathan bought a selection as he didn't know what Aubrey would like. She tried them all and ended up with the tuna so that was something else they'd learned that she liked.

Then it was on to Toys R Us where they spent another hour choosing toys and games and books. Then Jonathan insisted on buying the Toddler version of the iPad which was intended for age 4 and upwards, stating that his daughter was as clever as an average 4 year old. They also got her a little Disney Princess sing-a-long boombox which had an mp3 player in it so they could upload music for her, once they discovered what she liked.

The last things they bought were two baby dolls because when she passed them she stopped and picked one up.

"That's a baby." Jennifer told her.

"Two babies" Aubrey stated pointing at Jennifer's bump.

"That's right, there's two babies in here." Aubrey thought a moment then picked up a second doll and turned to Jonathan who was pushing the shopping cart.

"Two babies Daddy" She said handing them to him.

"That's right Baby except these don't scream and cost 50,000 dollars to go to college," Jonathan laughed

"Darling!" Jennifer laughed too swatting him

"Do you think we should start shopping for the babies?" Jonathan asked picking up a Dora the explorer Life size me..it was nearly bigger than him

"I think until we can get her more situated, we'll just have to wait," Jennifer said pushing the cart while Aubrey danced around them and suddenly darted back to the stuffed animal aisle

Jonathan wasn't too far behind her, She'd be lucky to make it to preschool without an armed guard

She stopped in front of a 7 foot 2inch Lion, with piercing teeth and yellow eyes, even though it was a stuffed animal, it still made Jonathan unnerved

"Daddy, that's Simba!" Aubrey pointed

"From the lion king?" Jonathan wondered, never imaging she'd seen a Disney movie

"No from the jungle!" She made a move to climb up his long legs but Jonathan scooped her up

"Can we get him, Daddy," Aubrey asked

"No!" a voice said before behind him

"Mama, why?" She whined

"We don't have the room for him, second of all, that thing is enough to scare the hell out of anyone," Jennifer said imagining getting up to feed one of the babies and coming in contact with that thing

"Mama,!" Aubrey wiggled down to the floor and threw her arms around her mama, hoping her blue eyes would get her way

"Put the eyes back Kid, she's a rock," Jonathan remarked leaning against the shelf

"MAMA! I want Simba!" Aubrey threw herself down and wailed

"Yeah well I wanted Robert Wagner but somehow managed with your Daddy, get up!" Jennifer tried picking her up but no luck and she was afraid she was going to get kicked in the belly

"Aubrey, get up!" Jonathan was become annoyed

This behaviour was unacceptable especially for his child

"I want SIMBA!" Aubrey yelled and cried harder, she was so worked up that she threw up tuna all over herself

"Oh my god, Aubrey..this is why we don't cry like that," Jennifer picked up her daughter, trying not to get herself covered..She turned to ask Jonathan something but he was in the wind

He may be a wonderful husband and Father but when it came to matters of the stomach, he was a total chicken

Jennifer did what millions of mothers have done in Toys R Us Since they opened

She stripped Aubrey down to her underwear and pushed in her underwear to the clothing department Where she quickly picked out a pair of overall shorts and a black t-shirt with a skull and crossbow

"This is so wrong," Jonathan peeked his face around the corner, "besides that's a little boy t-shirt"

"Well if someone's Daddy hadn't run over a little vomit, he could have picked a cuter outfit," Jennifer said changing her daughter

"Darling, you know how my stomach is," He gave her sad eyes

Doesn't work with a Mother of soon to be three

Aubrey had been silent while her mother changed her, sensing the anger but now she seized her opportunity

"Mama, look!" She pointed to a my size Ballerina Barbie except it was nearly the size of her Mama

"Alright that's it, Mama's had enough" Jennifer went to the cashier register and paid, the total near a 1000 dollars

"No one ever said having a kid would be cheap, " Jennifer said seeing the shock on Jonathan's face

"Yeah but not a thousand dollars worth," Jonathon said pulling out his credit card

"And just think, in about four months Santa will be here!" Jennifer clapping her hands

"Santa" Aubrey Shouted

"Santa may need to extend the limit on his visa card," Jonathan muttered signing his name to the receipt

They went home and started to unpack the car when Stephen came out help them

"Dad, Can you take Aubrey in?" Jennifer said unbuckling the car seat

"No! No! Poppa Max!" Aubrey yelled

"Poppa Max is busy Darling, but Grandpa can take you," Jennifer tried to find a reason why her daughter disliked her father

"Jennifer, it's alright, "Stephen tried not to appear hurt ..maybe he sensed she knew that he had wanted a grandson when she was born," Besides she obviously doesn't want the surprise Grandpa has for his girl,"

Aubrey knew on some level she was being tricked but she was still curious so she took her Grandfather's hand and walked into the house

It was the sound of "Oh boy!" that made them stop unpacking the car and walked into the house

Their living room which had once been the epi-center for Adult Entertainment, with a wet bar, piano and two couches had been removed to make room for a Bounce Castle, Barbie's Dream House and enough Disney toys to stock a Disney Store

"Stephen, what the hell is this?" Jonathan dropped the bag he was carrying

"I figured after a long trip, my little angel deserved a reward," Stephen said enjoying what he thought were looks of happy surprise on their faces

"Pa, this is way too much," Jennifer said

She was adamant about not raising a brat but this was blowing all that out of the water

"Aubrey Baby, go find Poppa Max and see if he'll give you a snack," Jennifer said sliding on to the ottoman which wasn't easy with her belly in the way

Aubrey looked longingly at all the toys but did what she was told

"Pa, We're so grateful that you want to make sure her transition is well but," Jennifer started 

"But we didn't think you'd take over the whole friggan house!" Jonathan said

Stephen's face fell and he went upstairs without a sound

"Oh boy I'll go up and talk to him," Jennifer started to get up but no luck

"Darling, why don't you let me?" Jonathan helped her up and she went into the kitchen

Jonathan stood at the bottom of the stairs, figuring out what to say

He knocked on the guest room door

"Stephen?" Jonathan said sticking in his head in the door to find the old man packing

"It's your house, do what you want" Stephen said stiffly

"Look I'm sorry about downstairs but we were taken a little back," Jonathan said walking across the room to the chair by the window

"I was trying to make sure my granddaughter knew that she had a grandfather who cared about her as much as her parents and Max," Stephen moved around the room

"We know but we're also trying to set up some sort of boundaries, we want to forget the kidnapping and make sure she knows that we are her parents and only us besides we have so little time before the babies are born that we can just enjoy her," Jonathan tried to explain

"Babies?" Stephen stopped folding his sweaters

"Oh Damn, Jennifer wanted to tell you," Jonathan knew he'd slipped on purpose anything to keep her father here because he knew if her father left, He'd be in the dog house with Freeway

"What babies?" Stephen asked

"It's twin boys, Dad" Jonathan smiled

"Oh my, Congratulations my boy!" Stephen was ecstatic, two grandsons! Of course he secretly hoped one of the boys would be named after him but that didn't matter , Before Jonathan could stop him, Stephen rushed down the stairs

Down the stairs and into the kitchen where Pearl and Jennifer were talking about furniture for Aubrey's room, crib versus big girl bed and Max had Aubrey on the counter, chewing on a cookie

"Jennifer! My Dear, I'm so happy!" Stephen said embracing his daughter

"About What?" Jennifer was surprised her father never was one to show emotion even when her mother died

"The Babies, oh my dear I'm so happy for you!" Stephen said

"Babies?" Pearl and Max said together

Jonathan came in and sheepishly shrugged, leaning over and grabbing a cookie

"Well I was sort of hoping to share with everyone at dinner but the cat's out of the bag, yes we're having twin boys," Jennifer smiled and put her hand on the bump

"Boy, are you guys in for it!" Pearl laughed kissing Jennifer

"Baby Brothers!" Aubrey squealed

"Wow that's amazing Congats Mr.H!" Max shook Jonathan's hand

"Thanks Max but you know that means, it's going to be twice the work and we're going to be needing some extra help," Jonathan said

"Nonsense!" Pearl nearly shouted, these were practically her grandchildren now,"I'll move in and help out!"

"Pearl, are you sure?" Jennifer was surprised

"Sure, You've got that big old guest house in the back and I'm more than alone, so it fits," Pearl stood there

Her word was final and Both Jonathan and Jennifer knew not to disagree

The next few days were a blur in setting up both Aubrey in her little room and Pearl in the guest house, each moment was spent making sure Aubrey didn't get underfoot with the movers and that Jennifer wasn't on her feet every moment organizing, Jonathan took over as much as possible but he knew she was going out of her mind making sure everything was perfect

The one thing everyone agreed on was that the bounce house was going outside and the furniture was coming back

They were organizing her menagerie when Jennifer suddenly felt funny like contractions but they weren't quite as painful

"Darling, are you alright?" Jonathan asked studying her face

"I don't know, there it goes again," Jennifer was becoming concerned

"I think we'd better get to you to the hospital," Jonathan took her hand


	9. Surprises

Jonathan led Jennifer to a sofa and had her sit down, and Pearl scooped up Aubrey who'd been about to climb up and join her.

"What does it feel like darling, is it painful?" Jonathan asked as he knelt in front of her

"Not painful, just uncomfortable. A bit like the Braxton Hicks I had when I was pregnant with Aubrey..." Jonathan looked at her blankly, he didn't know what she was talking about because he hadn't been there. "Sorry...I forgot" Jennifer said softly when she saw his expression. Jonathan nodded

"What happens?"

"Feel." Jennifer took his hands and placed them on her bump as she felt another tightening. It felt like a soccer ball and he looked at her sympathetically.

"Is it painful?"

"Not usually..."

"Just now?"

"Not really..." She was a little too vague for his liking but he didn't want to make her more agitated.

"Why don't we leave Aubrey with Max and Pearl and we'll go and have everything checked out. It's been a traumatic time for all of us, let alone you who has to grow twins." He smiled trying to reassure her. She did look pale and she'd had a headache earlier so he wanted to take her to the hospital. For her sake, and for his because he needed reassurance too.

"Ok, I guess it wouldn't hurt." She agreed. She looked from Jonathan to Aubrey who was looking back at her with her Daddy's blue eyes, she was silent and calm, obviously realising something wasn't right with her Mama. Pearl saw Jennifer's face and she bounced Aubrey gently in her arms.

"Come on sweetie, we'll go out back and play for a while." Jennifer stood up and walked to them, leaning over she went to give Aubrey a quick kiss but the little girl reached out and wrapped her arms round her neck and held on until Jennifer took her in to her arms and held her close.

"Mama is going out for a while baby. You stay with Pearl and Pops and have fun playing in the garden. Ok?" She pulled back and looked into her daughter's sweet face.

"Ok Mama." She agreed and Jennifer kissed her and handed her back to Pearl. As they walked away Pearl was talking to Aubrey to distract her and finally she turned her head away from her Mama and looked at Pearl.

"Come on darling, let's go." Jonathan said taking her hand.

Max stood and watched them leave then turned and headed out to join Pearl and Aubrey.

At the hospital they had to sit in the waiting room while Jennifer's records were accessed. She hadn't yet had her ultrasound to confirm the findings of the one in Kenya, but there was no reason it would be any different. Jonathan took her hand and laced his fingers with hers as she absently stroked her bump with her other hand. Everything tightened again and she shifted position in her seat. They didn't talk, Jonathan had tried making small talk but she'd just smiled at him and so he'd stopped and they were waiting in silence. A few minutes passed and each one felt like an eternity, Jonathan had to try very hard to sit still and Jennifer knew how difficult it was for him to be patient.

"Jennifer Edwards?" The voice called from the doorway. Jennifer knew her medical records were in her real name but it felt odd being addressed that way when most people called her Mrs Hart. It served as another reminder that in the eyes of the law she was unmarried.

Jonathan felt her discomfort and he squeezed her fingers as they stood up and followed the woman down the corridor to an examination room.

They were invited to sit and the woman introduced herself as Doctor Susan Kendall. She smiled and Jennifer felt more at ease.

She opened the folder on her desk. "I see here that this is your second pregnancy. Why don't you tell me what's been happening."

Jennifer and Jonathan looked at each other and Jennifer took a deep breath before she started talking. Ten minutes later having given the Doctor the abridged version of the events of the last two years, with some help from Jonathan, she sat back in the chair and accepted a tissue from the box the other woman held out to her. Talking about it all in that way to a stranger had made it all more real and Jennifer realised just how different the outcome could have been.

"You've been under enormous stress, and because you've been running on adrenalin you haven't realised how difficult all of that is on a body that is trying to deal with a twin pregnancy, as well as suddenly being responsible for a toddler to whom you were strangers."

"I've been trying to do my best for everyone." Jennifer wiped her eyes. "I've always been strong and I was in great physical shape before I got pregnant."

"You haven't done anything wrong Miss Edwards."

"It's Jennifer..."

"Jennifer. You've been through a tough time. Losing a child is the worst thing that could happen to you, especially when you didn't believe she was gone and everyone else did." Jennifer felt Jonathan flinch and it was her turn to squeeze his fingers. "But you were right, and amid the euphoria of finding out she was still alive you had to travel halfway around the world and in to a dangerous situation to bring her back. You've lived an action movie!" Doctor Kendall said, it really was an unbelievable story but one she believed to be true.

"What about the symptoms she's been having Doctor?" Jonathan was anxious to find out if everything was ok.

"We'll do a proper examination and I'll check your cervix is still properly closed, then we'll do an ultrasound to check on the babies. I'll do measurements on them both and we can have a look at them in 2D first and then 3D. We'll put you on a foetal heart monitor that will pick up both heartbeats just to make sure they're what they should be."

"Ok." Was all Jennifer could say in response.

"Any questions?"

"Can I stay with her?" Jonathan asked

"For the heart monitor and the ultrasound, yes. For the internal examination, no!" Jonathan opened his mouth to say something then saw Jennifer's face and decided against it.

The doctor took Jennifer's blood pressure and oxygen sats before she did anything else and the pressure was a bit high even for a multiple pregnancy. The internal examination was fine though, the cervix was how it should be. So next was the ultrasound which Doctor Kendall told them would be conducted by a Sonographer with her in attendance to look at the images and measurements.

They gave Jennifer a hospital gown to wear over her underwear and they left her with a jug of water to drink. Once she'd finished it they took her along to the room where the scanning equipment was set up and Jonathan walked just behind her with his hand on her back.

Between the 2D and 3D scans they were able to determine that the babies looked fine and were progressing normally. What was also established was that they were identical twins as they shared a placenta, so Doctor Kendall said they'd need to monitor them more closely than they would if they had separate ones, to ensure they were both getting the same level of blood and nutrients.

Once they'd seen everything they needed to Jonathan and Jennifer were allowed to watch the monitor for a while. Jonathan was completely mesmerised at the sight of their sons and he held Jennifer's hand tightly in his as they watched them moving around.

"We're measuring you at about 29 weeks so I'd say that you'd be likely to deliver in about 8 weeks if everything goes as planned. You may go on longer but it's not common. At 37 weeks I estimate they'll each weigh about 6lbs." Doctor Kendall told them.

"Eight weeks..." Jennifer repeated focusing on that rather than what she'd said about their size, suddenly aware of how much there still was to do and how much time they wanted to spend with Aubrey, preparing her for her new life.

"We'll get there Jennifer, I promise, everything will work out fine."

"Everything is progressing normally with the babies, but your blood pressure does give me some cause for concern. I think the best solution we have for you is bed rest." Doctor Kendall explained.

"Bed rest?"

"Yes. Not 24 hours a day but certainly at least 20. It will increase to complete bed rest if your symptoms persist though, and it might only be for a week or two if we see the result we need."

Jennifer felt her eyes fill with tears and the Doctor looked at her.

"Jennifer, you need to take care of yourself now to make sure you give yourself and your babies the best chance of being healthy. If your blood pressure goes higher we will admit you to hospital for monitoring so it's in your best interest to stay calm and rested."

"I'll make sure that happens." Jonathan told them and Jennifer managed a smile knowing that he'd do his damndest to make sure they were all ok.

The heart monitor had shown two strong and healthy heartbeats so they had let Jonathan take Jennifer home with the assurance that he would put her straight to bed and would bring her back if there were any problems.

"Oh Jonathan, I'm sorry about this." Jennifer sighed as they sat in traffic on their way home.

"You have no reason to apologise sweetheart. Everything will be fine, you just need to rest more."

"What about Aubrey? She needs so much of our time and attention just now."

"Jennifer, she's going to be great, you've seen how quickly she's adjusted to us, and she hasn't mentioned Elliot at all or asked to go back there. We know that she's physically fine and the psychologist was delighted with her. She isn't going to have a problem with this, in fact it might help keep her calm if she sits with you and reads and watches the tv shows she likes."

"I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right." Jonathan grinned lifting her hand and kissing her fingers.

"Jonathan?"

"Yes Darling?

"There is one thing that we need to do, it's really important to me, especially after today."

"Name it?"

"I want us to get married. I know we already spoke about it but when Doctor Kendall called me Jennifer Edwards I realised again how much it means to me to have the same name as my children, our children."

"OK, we'll go down to City Hall tomorrow."

"Thank you." She smiled

"During the 4 hours that you are allowed up!" He added.

Jennifer smiled but inside she was concerned ...bed rest with a two year old plus a husband who works 80 hours a week? Even with Max, her Dad and Pearl that still wasn't enough but she took a deep breath and a realization that two lives her own included were at stake and that she couldn't be Wonder Woman all the time.

At Home on Willow Pond, Jennifer immediately went to bed and Jonathan went to round up everyone to have a meeting.

Everyone sat around the kitchen table, Aubrey in Max's lap because he was trying to feed her something other than cookies, this time it was a weird apple carrot and spinach combination that she seemed to like, even if she had no clue what she was eating, Stephen and Pearl watching in amusement and mild disgust

"Alright Troops, Here's the situation, Jennifer's going on bed starting now and pretty much for the next eight weeks, if things don't improve she may have to go into the hospital, that's not the main problem well it is a big problem but I can't be here and Hart Industries, I can divide my time but It's going to require some work," Jonathan pacing the kitchen

"What do you need, Mr.H?" Max immediately responded

"Divide and Conquer Max," Jonathan pulled out a note pad, the business man was taking over the sentimental guy from before, "Max, The house and the yard are your responsibility, make sure if Jennifer even thinks about cleaning ..Do what you gotta do," Jonathan said

"You got it Mr.H" Max nodded briskly he wasn't going to knock her out but if he had to, he'd make sure she wouldn't leave the room..Suddenly he had a vision of doing the same thing to Aubrey in a few years and that made him smile

"Pearlie, you are completely in charge of Aubrey, whatever you need to make sure she's not underfoot for the construction workers and that Jennifer gets plenty of rest," Jonathan said smiling at his daughter

"Well what If i take her out to the guest house with me during the day and bring her back to sleep," Pearl suggested," With a few visits of course with her Mama,"

"Perfect," He kissed her on the cheek," Now Stephen, we have twins coming and She obviously can't setup both Aubrey's room and the boys room so you need to oversee the construction,"

"Of Course, "Stephen said thrilled to be involved

"Now I'm going to work half days so that I can go with her to doctors appointments and spend sometime with Aubrey but if we all work together, we can pull this off .." Jonathan stood up but before he went back upstairs, he suddenly remembered something

"Wait before you disburse, We need to arrange something," Jonathan said and everyone back down in anticipation

Upstairs, Jennifer slowly undressed and put her nightgown on, wondering how she was going to survive being on bed, There was no television in here because well she and Jonathan had never really needed it, they had sort of made up their own entertainment, she knew she wouldn't have the concentration to read and she was especially worried how her daughter would react, they had just gotten her back and now Mama wasn't going to able to play or do anything with her, she couldn't even get on the floor and play barbies with her, She tried not to get frustrated but she was mad at herself for letting this happen, she knew that stressing out wasn't the answer

"Darling," Jonathan called her, startling out of her thoughts

"I'm sorry Darling, how long have you been standing there," She said leaning on the bed

"Long enough to see that you've buttoned and rebuttoned the nightgown at least a half dozen times, Darling We'll be all right I've sent out the assignments and the troops are all set..So Cadet into bed with you," Jonathan pulled back the covers and she slipped in, just as Max and Her Father brought in the television from the kitchen

"Ooh Darling you brought the tv up for me thank you," She kissed him

"Yeah Well i figure our playtime won't be for another few months," Jonathan grunted

"Alright I don't need to hear that," Max said putting down the TV and walking out the door in disgust

"Uh yes well I think I'll go catch up with Pearl and Aubrey," Stephen quietly shuffled out

"Whoops," She smiled and leaned back

"Now I'm having baby monitors set up so you can communicate with us, anything you want just call us," Jonathan said crawling beside her

"How is this going to work?" Jennifer asked resting her hands on the bump

"It's all set just sit back and enjoy the ride," Jonathan pressed his hands to hers

"That's what you said on our first date," She smiled

"Ah yes, going to the drive in and then getting stuck up on Canyon Drive," Jonathan remembered

"Yup, somehow even watching Miracle on 34th St put you in the mood and I thought i'd have to hose you down," Jennifer laughed

"You weren't exact Ms Innocent up on the Canyon, as i recall you ripped a perfect good pair of Brooks Brothers Pants" Crinkling his eyes and flashing that dimple she had fallen in love with so many times before

"And as I recall you tore up an 800 dollar bra because you couldn't figure out it opened from the front, Let's face it. being sex crazed is what's gotten us trouble," Jennifer smiled

"And Let's hope that never changes," Jonathan said starting to fall asleep," Do you need anything Darling,"

"Yeah Can you flash forward to eight weeks from now," She whispered sadly but knew he didn't hear her

Over the next few days, She sat in her bed alternating between watching the View and feeling the urge to slap Barbara Walters for selling, to reading book after book with Aubrey who for the first time in her little life sat still knowing on some level her mama couldn't go out and play, so they would play on the bed with all her new little toys and when it was time for Mama to take a nap, Aubrey would curl up and nap with her

Of course after awhile, Pearl would come in and take Aubrey to the park and to the pool because it was so warm out and Jennifer needed a break but it seemed like the best medicine Jennifer could have gotten.

Max deemed she was too thin and thus the basis of her early contractions, he was determined to fatten her up so he prepared all the foods she had banned from the house, burgers hot dogs chicken with extra cheese, grits although she didn't even know what the hell a grit was and all sorts of fattening foods.

Her Dad, for the first few days after Jonathan handed out his assignment to oversee the addition of the boys room and Aubrey's room, ran in every 20 minutes on the dot to get her approval until Max just told him to trust his own judgement

In between Aubrey being with her and Pearl, and the others doing their jobs she hadn't seen much of Jonathan, in fact he wasn't even sleeping in here..Max said the last few nights he found him asleep on the couch with his briefcase in one hand and half a sandwich in the other..

It was her fault, if she hadn't been on bed rest, he wouldn't have had to work so hard to catch up and he could sleep and help take care of their daughter but then she looked at from another perspective, these were his children she was carrying he should be kissing her ass and waiting on her but no of course not, he'd put the company before any of them and so her resentment began to grow.

He figured when she was only giving him one worded answers and dirty looks that she thought he was pulling away from her that he didn't want to to be apart of this pregnancy because he wasn't a part of her last one, that because he'd fallen asleep downstairs meant more than it should have but he knew when she found out what he was up to, she would forgive him.

He hoped

Instead her resement turned to cold silence and for one week, She wouldn't even allow him into their bedroom, he supposed it could blame it on her hormones but he knew it was more his behaviour and he had to keep it up otherwise if he burst and told her, all the work would be going out the window, He felt bad even more because she wouldn't allow him to help her do anything including showers or even a short walk out to the yard, for that she insisted on Pearl, Max or her father who knew that her behaviour was irrational but were sworn to secrecy.

On a warm Saturday Morning, Jennifer had woken up and waited for breakfast, which she was surprised that Max hadn't barged through the door already but after a half hour she was annoyed

"Hey Max!" She yelled into the monitor

"Mrs. H?" Max said from the kitchen organizing things

"What's on going with breakfast?" She asked she wasn't trying to be bitchy but she was starving and going downstairs wasn't an option because she was afraid of a fight with Jonathan

"Oh right, I'll bring it right up," Max said

"Just throw together something quickly, there's too much to do," Pearl said feeding Aubrey

"Do you think we're doing the right thing, i mean basically screwing with her isn't very nice," Max said putting a bowl and spoon on a tray table

"Yeah but I think she'll be okay when she sees everything," Aubrey decided at that moment to just stick her face into the cereal bowl and try to snorkel, "Augh Don't!" Pearl shouted because there was no time for a bath, there was barely time to get dressed

Max brought the tray upstairs

Jennifer immediately sat up and expected to see her usual breakfast, toast, eggs fruit cup and orange juice instead she saw rice krispies and some milk

"Max, what is this?" She was sure he'd gone grocery shopping the day before

"Sorry Mrs.H but there's no time I've got a lot of Errands to do," Max quickly left

"Never Mind the pregnant woman, I'm just a human incubator," She said then put the tray on the table suddenly not hungry

She walked over to the window to see Aubrey and Pearl standing by the bridge looking at something but she couldn't tell what then a large truck came around the back and into the yard, she figured it was baby furniture and went back to the bed

She was in the middle of watching an Old Spencer/Hepburn movie when she heard clattering underneath her

Curiously, she went to the hallway where she saw some workmen and Max talking intently

"Hey, What's going on" She asked

"Nothing, guys go outside and wait for me," Max raised his eyebrows and they quickly followed his orders

She was bothered by that and made a note to ask Jonathan what that was about, later on if she decided to speak with him at all that day

She didn't even bother asking about lunch because she was afraid Max would just throw a baloney sandwich at her and she also realized she hadn't seen her father all day, Aubrey and Pearl had come up earlier to read a couple books but they had been outside for most of the day

She was just starting to fall asleep when Jonathan came sweeping in around 6

"Darling, wake up," He shook her gently

"What's going on," She was having a fantastic dream including Cary Grant and a desert island

"I need you to come downstairs," Jonathan went over to the closet and pulled out a pair of maternity jeans and a white shirt, "Put this on,"

"I'm not going anywhere," She rolled over

"Jennifer please darling I need you to come downstairs," He pleaded with her, now was not the time for her to be stubborn

"Don't Darling me, I've been alone most of the day no one seems to care about the fact I'm stuck in bed while someone else is raising my daughter and I haven't seen my husband since yesterday," She spat out

"Jennifer Sophia Edwards Hart, Get out of bed now or I swear I'll drag you pregnant or not," Jonathan ordered

She wasn't frightened in the slight but she'd never called out by her full name by him ever

"This better be important and why do I need i need maternity jeans, Can't I just wear my nightgown after all, I'm not supposed to be up," Jennifer said taking the jeans from him

"Because it's kinda of cold outside and that nightgown is flimsy, here also put this on, "Handing her a sweater but not allowing her to see the back of it

She got dressed slowly and he wanted to scream at her to hurry up but seeing how she was already pissed, that would just send her back to the bed.

"There, Happy," She stood all 5'6 of her, belly included and he had to surpress the urge to kiss her

"Come with me," Jonathan took her hand and walked her to the hallway, she followed him wordlessly but when they got to the top of the stairs, he suddenly swooped over and picked her up

"Jonathan! What are you doing?" She was surprised but he was going to be crippled tomorrow

"Just hold on,Scarlett," He huffed and puffed down the stairs through the living room and into the kitchen

Pearl was standing in the kitchen waiting for them

"What's going on, Where's Aubrey?" Jennifer was concerned

"She's outside with Max and Your Dad..Relax Jenny," Pearl said holding something behind her back

"What is going on here, I demand to know!" Jennifer was becoming agitated but then suddenly everything went black

Pearl had blindfolded her while she was starting to rant

"Pearl, what is the meaning of this ?" She sputtered

"Jenny I say this with love but shut the hell up!" Pearl said winking at Jonathan who was smiling that famous smile of his

"Ready, 1,2,3," They counted and pulled her out to the backyard to the gazebo, Jennifer asking every five steps what was going on

"Remember how we said we'd just go to the courthouse and make it legal, that we didn't need anyone but us and Aubrey," Jonathan whispered, "Well I sort of decided to do something different,"

She was curious but the ice was melting...

"We never got to do the whole wedding registry, or even baby registry so me and the troops decided to do something a little different," He kissed her lips," I love you so much,"

"Jonathan, what have you done? Please Let me see," She begged him

"Just a second," He stood behind her and signaled someone, who turned on Bach's Air on the G-string and music filled the yard

And she suddenly knew what was happening

She was getting married!

She felt something go on top of her head and her hair being fluffed out, she desperately wanted to rip the blindfold off but knew this was Jonathan's surprise and she had to go with it

"Are you ready," Pearl asked Jonathan

"As we'll ever be," Jonathan smiled, he couldn't stop smiling and doubt he ever would

Pearl took off the blindfold and Jennifer gasped

The gazebo was covered in white lights and white roses, a 1000 white candles had been placed all around the yard creating intersecting Js and just beyond the gazebo, she saw a white tent with tables and chairs.

An aisle had been created from where she was standing to the gazebo about 15 feet, along the aisle was about 50 of their closest friends, She saw Max standing at the gazebo with Aubrey, who was wearing a little black and white dress with her first pair of Mary Jane shoes and little white tights, Max was wearing a black and white suit as well

Her father was standing by the chairs, waiting to walk her down the aisle, finally getting to do his fatherly duty and finally give his daughter away properly

"Are you surprised," Jonathan whispered

"Yes, Ooh Darling I'm sorry for how i've treated you," She wiped away tears

"Baby, It wasn't a problem ..." He kissed her

"Uh Kids, we better get this show on the road because we're on a time restraint," Pearl said breaking up this moment

"Right..See you at the front of the Church," He kissed her again and walked down the aisle

"Here, let's make this sure this is straight," Pearl said handing Jennifer a mirror, She realized a veil had been put on her head and Pearl stood behind her to make a quick adjustment

"Pearlie, how long has he been planning this," Jennifer said pulling the front of the veil over her face

"About two weeks," Pearl remarked

"The late nights at the office," Jennifer realized that he wasn't ignoring her, he was planning this, she felt like such a bitch, when she could, she was going to make it up to him until he was unconscious

"Alright Girlie, time to get you hitched before you hatch," Pearl patted her on the back and pulled down her sweater, her belly stretching out the fabric

"Ready Sweetheart," Stephen took his daughter by the arm

"I've been waiting for this moment my entire life," She sniffled

He walked her slowly, knowing that she was savouring the moment as well as the fact her belly prevented her from racing down the aisle, Along the way, she saw faces of friends from the past, her favourite Aunt From Paris and co-workers she had formed relationships with, she smiled through her tears, babies dancing inside her

They reached the gazebo and Jonathan stepped down to help her up the stairs, a Priest stepped forward and beckoned them to stand directly in front of him

"Hold on, one second please," Jennifer stepped over to Max and took their daughter from him, this was an important moment for them and she needed to have her daughter right there, Jonathan understood immediately

"Dearly Beloved, we're gathered here to witness the love between Jonathan Charles and Jennifer Sophia, brought together by something much more than fate, that this was all pre-destined written the stars, that two people from two different worlds could come together and create a world to share with not only us but with their children as well, who I am sure will grow up knowing how much their parents love and appreciated each other," the priest said

"They'll appreciate a good pair of ear plugs," Max quipped

Everyone laughed including Jennifer, who couldn't stop gazing into Jonathan's eyes and him the same, he knew that this was a moment that could never be recaptured

"Now onto the vows, Jonathan Charles do you take Jennifer Sophia to be your wife, to have and to hold until death do you part?" The priest asked

"Yes, I do..." Jonathan clasped her hands

"Jennifer Sophia, do you take Jonathan Charles to be your husband, to have and to hold until death do you part," the priest turned to Jennifer

"No," Jennifer said surprising everyone

"Now onto the ...Wait What?" even the priest was surprised ..30 years of doing this and he'd only had one other bride run out on her groom

"We take Jonathan Charles to be our husband," She smiled

"Christ, don't do that..Sorry Father," Jonathan muttered rolling his eyes

"Jonathan Charles, place the ring on Jennifer Sophia's ring finger," the priest said after pausing for a moment

Max stepped forward and pulled out a large tiffany box

"This ring is to symbolize Marriage and commitment to one another," the priest said

"Yeah and to give Liz Taylor a run for her money," Jonathan laughed

Jennifer laughed as Jonathan opened the box to reveal a 10.2 white diamond with three tiny diamonds on the side

"Each of these diamonds, represents our family ..Our Daughter and two boys," Jonathan slipped the ring on her hand

"Oh my god" She gasped, "I don't even have a wedding band for you, though"

"I can take care of that," Pearl stepped forward, "This band belonged to the love of my life, my first husband, George who went down in the south pacific during World War II, and it's time it go to a new home,"

"Pearlie, are you sure?" Jonathan asked

"Charlie, you are my son and I want you to have it," She said pressing the gold band into his hand

"Thanks Pearlie," He kissed her cheek

"That makes even more special," Jennifer was crying again

"And Now, It's my great honor to present for the first time, Mr and Mrs Jonathan Hart!" The Priest called out

Jonathan handed Aubrey who had fallen asleep because there's nothing more boring than watching your parents get married to Pearl, grabbed his new bride and kissed her within in an inch of both their lives

"Ahem," Stephen coughed after several minutes

They continued kissing despite the thunderous applause and finally broke apart for air

But just before they walked back down the aisle, he whispered in her ear, "Too bad we can't have a normal honeymoon,"

"12 weeks buster," She whispered back

They walked back down the aisle and Jennifer sent up a silent prayer of thanks to her own Mother in the heavens.

Still coming down off the high of her wedding a week later, Jennifer was alone in the house for the first time, Max was in the garden, Pearl had taken Aubrey down to the playground and her father had decided to go visit some friends, Jonathan had resisted but she had made him go into the office his hovering was driving her up the wall and she told him either he go to the office or find someplace other than Willow Pond to hang out for 12 hours a day

So when the doorbell rang, she knew she'd have to leave her comfy bed and she slowly walked down the stairs, feeling bigger than she ever thought she'd be She seriously thought of telling Jonathan when he came home, that until these babies were born, they'd be sleeping in Max's room and he could have their room, stairs were getting harder and harder

She looked out the living room window and saw it was a delivery service, they had received so many baby gifts at their wedding she couldn't imagine what this was but never the less, she opened the door

"?" the young man asked

Even though she had been a Mrs. Hart for nearly three years, she still loved the feeling of excitement she got when someone called her that

"Yes I'm " She said smiling

"I have a package for you, please sign here," the delivery guy said handing her a clipboard, she quickly signed the form

"Where can I put this," The delivery guy said

"Hmm how about in the living room," Jennifer said opening the living room door completely and pointing to the spot beside the couch

"Are you sure,?" he asked unsure

"Yes just put it in the living rom!" She had the hormones from hell and was going to scream

"Alright," the guy went back to the truck and Jennifer went into the kitchen for some juice ...when she came back about 20 minutes the crate was making a scraping and grunting noise, like something was trapped inside of it

"What the hell," Looking for the delivery guy, he had long since gone so she unwrapped it carefully and noticed it said "Caution Live Animal KANGAROO"

"Someone sent us a kangaroo? Why?" She felt stupid for talking to herself but who does that, she noticed a card tucked into the side of the crate, she quickly opened it, Read it quickly and screamed

And She would never stop screaming


	10. Breaking Down

Max heard the screams from the garden and came running in to find her in front of a crate sobbing and screaming

"Hey! What's going on?" Max shouted over her but she didn't hear or choose to hear him,"Mrs.H? ..JENNIFER!"  
>"Max, what's this entire racket?" Pearl came in with Aubrey who was surprised to see her normal composed Mama throwing a fit<p>

"Take her outside now!" Max ordered Pearl, who left without saying another word.

He walked over to her and pushed her into the couch but she still kept screaming

"Forgive me," He whispered then as gently as he could, slap her across the face

That seem to get her to stop screaming but now she was sitting in stunned silence

Max threw a blanket across her shoulders and went to the phone

"Jonathan Hart please," Max said to Jonathan' secretary," I don't care if he's in a meeting, tell him he needs to come home now,"

Max then hung up and knelt in front of Jennifer, "What's happened, tell me"

She refused to speak instead holding out a card

He read it and suddenly understood her behavior, "I'm sorry, I'm just sorry"

"Oh Max, what am I going to do?" She suddenly began to sob,"I can't live like this anymore, he'll always find us, how are we going to raise our children in a fishbowl constantly worried that someone will harm them,"

He simply hugged her, if he had the chance, he'd kill this bastard himself he didn't care if he went to jail for a 100 years, nothing was worth seeing this woman fall apart, His friend Teddy Gavin had gone to jail for shooting his great-nephew's murderer after the car accident and had told him it wasn't bad inside the joint..

He pulled back to study her face, his palm print leaving an imprint on her cheek but she didn't seem to care

Suddenly she stood up and marched upstairs

"Hey! Where are you going?" Max chased her up the stairs

"This is all my fault and I need to fix this," She said pulling out her suitcase

"Where are you going? Your pregnant, you can't travel!" Max said standing in the door

"I know what I have to do, I'm going to have these babies, sign over custody to Jonathan and walk away," Jennifer was alternating between sobbing and breathing heavy

"What do you mean, walk away?" Max knew this wasn't her talking, it was the hysteria

"I'm going to ensure these children are safe and if that means leaving then that's what I'll do," She stuffed a sweater into the overflowing suitcase

"You don't mean that, come on we'll figure something out," He said making a move to stop her

"There's nothing to figure it's my fault that this has happened and so what's the best to fix the situation, remove the problem" She went into the bathroom to gather her jewelry

She was serious and Max had to stop her, so while she looked for her earrings, he quietly went behind her, shut the bathroom door and jammed the vanity chair underneath it

"Max, I can't get out of the bathroom!" She called

"I'll let you out when you've got that crazy idea of leaving out of your foolish head!" Max called

"Max, we both know it's in everyone's best interest!" She tried the door but no luck

"No it's in everyone's best interest that you pull yourself together and start acting like the mother you are!" Max knew he would never speak to her that way unless she was really being unreasonable

"Please Max, just let me go!" She begged

Suddenly he heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway and brakes screeching, a few minutes later Jonathan came through the living room door

"Jennifer!" He called seeing the crate

"We're upstairs!" Max called, "you'd better hurry!"

Jonathan walked into the bedroom to see a half full suitcase, Max looking devastated and the chair jammed under the doorknob of the bathroom

"What's going on?" He was concerned, five hours ago he'd left his wife happy and smiling

Now it looked like a hostage situation

"She got this card, freaked out and started to leave so I locked her in the bathroom," Max held out card

"You did the right thing, Max," Jonathan said quickly reading the card

"You gotta do something, she's talking about running," Max said then left them alone knowing she would calm down after Jonathan spoke to her

"Baby, I'm going to let you out alright?" Jonathan removed the door and stepped into the bathroom to find his wife sobbing in the tub

"He's coming back for us, Jonathan, we'll never be safe .."

"We'll up extra security and make sure everyone is safe, Darling we'll be alright" Jonathan said leaning against the tub

"No what's best for us and the children is if I disappear, I'll sign a document giving you all three of our children and never come back, they can have a life without me here," She was hiccupping now

"No I won't accept that." Jonathan couldn't believe that she was saying that, this was not the same woman who had fought for their daughter's life less than two weeks ago and he knew that her becoming stressed out was stressing out the babies

"You have to otherwise I'll just leave in the middle of the night," Jennifer continually looked down at her wedding ring, just one week ago she'd been the happiest she had ever been

"That's enough I'm not allowing you to leave our children or me, we're a family damn it," Jonathan was angry at her

"You don't understand this WHOLE thing is MY FAULT!" She screamed

He couldn't reason with her, she wasn't willing to listen but he couldn't leave her sitting in the tub and for the first time in his life, he didn't have an answer …

He sat for a few minutes in silence looking at her and could see how wrung out she was, this had totally thrown her. Even when they thought they'd lost Aubrey and she was grief stricken she was never this unreasonable. He sat a moment trying to think of how he could get through to her.

"The only thing you did wrong was fall for that man when you were young and inexperienced. He's a psychopath Jennifer, but you couldn't have known that. You hadn't seen him for years and you didn't invite him in to our lives so none of this is your fault. That mad man is the only one to blame." Jennifer lifted her head and looked at him, her body still shook with the occasional sob.

"It's me he wants Jonathan and I can't put our children in danger."

"Letting him upset you like this is already putting 2 of our children in danger." He told her leaning over the tub and gently rubbing her bump, smiling slightly as one of the boys gave his hand a little kick, responding to the sound and touch of his Daddy. The tender gesture calmed her a little, she knew he was right that she needed to be careful or her blood pressure would rocket. "These little boys are still about 5 weeks away from being born so they need to cook a bit longer." He tried the flash of humour then lifted his hand to touch her cheek. "Please baby." She heard his voice waver and it went straight to her heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…."

"You don't need to be sorry. You just need to be strong a little bit longer. The boys need you, Aubrey needs you…. And Darling I need you. I can't do anything unless I have you at my side. Max, Pearl and your Dad have all been great, but who is it that Aubrey wants when she's tired or upset or excited?" Jennifer thought for a moment then nodded her understanding.

"She wants me."

"Yes, she wants her Mama. Her Mama that she reached out to that day in Kenya with immediate recognition. Now she's smart enough to know that if she wants to be fed its Pops she needs, but for everything else it's you. Don't you think she's been through enough already without losing her Mama again?" Jennifer smiled at the remark about food, their baby girl certainly had a great appetite, but she was always on the go burning all her energy off.

Jonathan could see she was coming around.

"What has he done to us Jonathan?"

"Nothing that can't be undone. He can only beat us if we let him and we're not going to let him. We're going to be a strong and united family of five." He told her. We're not running away, we're staying at home where we belong. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you all safe, I promise!"

"What if he never gives up? We can't live like this forever."

"It won't be forever!" Jonathan had a dark edge to his voice and she didn't want to think about what he might mean by that, although if she were completely honest she'd fantasized about that bastard dying at her hands so she wasn't surprised Jonathan might be thinking the same.

"I'm not sure I can be that strong Jonathan, I feel like I'm losing my grip. I never considered myself to be anything other than strong and rational. I was in control of my life. Now I feel like I want to stop the world and get off."

"What we've been through in the last month would be enough to make anyone question their sanity. But when we became parents we had to learn to play by different rules, and those rules are children first, everything else second. As harsh as it might sound you have to try and deal with your feelings or put them aside for now. Aubrey needs you, her Mama, it's that simple."

Jennifer knew he was right and all of a sudden she felt ridiculous sitting in the bathtub fully clothed.

"Help me out of here Jonathan."

"Yes ma'am!"

At 32 weeks pregnant with twins Jennifer was aware it was going to be harder getting out of the tub than it had been getting in, but Jonathan helped her and a few minutes later she was washing her face then heading back to bed.

"You get settled then I'll go and get Aubrey and some milk and cookies for you both." He told her and Jennifer smiled.

"You know that I need her just as much as she needs me, don't you?" She asked seriously.

"Of course I do. You were just shocked. I'll go and get her, we'll be back in a few minutes."

True to his word Jonathan was back a few minutes later with Aubrey following him. She walked just behind him and seemed a bit wary as they came through the bedroom doors. Jennifer gazed at her little face and realized that she looked scared. She stayed close to Jonathan and as he put the tray with the snacks on it down on the night stand and turned round she collided with his legs and he bent down to pick her up. She wrapped her arms round his neck and Jennifer felt the lump in her throat knowing that Aubrey was reacting to what she'd witnessed from her.

Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed, still holding their little girl and Jennifer reached across to smooth her hair back from her face, grateful that at least she hadn't shied away from her.

"Sit next to Mama Sweetheart and Daddy will pass you your snack."

He put her gently on the bed and she settled back against the pillow. Handing her the cup of milk first he then handed Jennifer her glass. Lifting the plate of cookies he laid it on Aubrey's knees and she smiled at him.

"Why don't you give Mama a cookie."

"Cookie Mama." She lifted one from the plate and Jennifer smiled at her

"Thank you baby." She said taking it from her and managing to hold her little hand a few seconds before Aubrey turned her attention back to the plate.

"I forgot your new book Aubrey, I'll go and get it and Mama can read it to you." Jonathan told the little girl who could only nod as her mouth was filled with cookie.

Jennifer sipped her milk then leaned across and kissed her daughters head.

Leaving Jennifer and Aubrey cuddled up in their bed Jonathan headed back downstairs and Max almost immediately handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks Max!"

"How are they both?"

"Aubrey is fine, milk, cookies a new story and a cuddle from her Mama. Everything in her world is perfect."

"And Mrs. H?"

"She'll be ok Max. Her nerves are shredded and she's exhausted, but she knows she isn't going anywhere because we all need her here, looking after herself and the babies."

"Good. I was real worried, I've never seen her like that before, even when we thought Aubrey was gone."

"Where is the crate by the way?"

"Out front waiting for the folks from the Zoo to come and collect it. They should be here any minute."

"Thanks Max."

Jonathan and Aubrey spent the rest of the afternoon lying in bed with Jennifer watching Disney movies and at one point all three of them fell asleep.

Max and Pearl sat in the kitchen talking and when Stephen came back he joined them and they explained what had happened, although Max played down Jennifer's hysteria and didn't mention slapping her.

"We might have to up the ante with that maniac now. I thought he'd get the message but obviously not. I never liked or trusted him but I never thought he was stupid."

"I think what freaked Mrs. H out most were the photographs of Aubrey, he even had one of her at the Wedding so either he's stalking them or has someone else who is."

"Has Jonathan spoken to the Police yet?"

"I don't think so, he's stayed upstairs with his girls all afternoon."

"I'm not sure there's much they can do anyway. I think it warrants a bit more weight behind it now."

"Those guys you hired before?"

"Bigger guns than them Max, they let him go in the first place. I know he's a slippery character and he had secret tunnels, and I know their job was to get the child, but I need people I know will be able to deal with him effectively." Stephen said forcefully.

"You mean take him out?"

"I mean take him out!"

"Well if you don't, I think once she's delivered the twins Mrs. H might go after him herself!"

"A lioness protecting her cubs… There's nothing more dangerous!" Stephen informed them.

"Whoa, Guys," Pearl waved her hand, "This isn't the Mafia, we can't go around eliminating people we hate if we could, there would be no one left,"

"So what do you suggest? We sit here and do nothing?" Stephen was furious

"No I'm saying With enough of our connections we can make sure that we can pinpoint his location and make sure he stays there permanently.."Pearl said reaching for her cell phone

"And when that doesn't work?" Max said putting a tray of cookies into the oven

"Then we'll make the bastard suffer" Pearl said dialing

For the first time in weeks, Jennifer finally slept peacefully there was no getting up and wondering to the nursery, a night without sobbing and without fear or of wondering what was going to happen, what was happening a world away, everything she needed was right in this bed and in this house.

The next morning, she woke up to the sun shining and birds singing, standing up to see her daughter curled up against her husband, their identical faces

"My beautiful Baby," She whispered then headed downstairs remembering to tell Max he needed to put the baby gates up, five weeks would be here before they knew it

She went to the kitchen surprised to see Max sitting up drinking coffee

"Have you been up all night?" She said noticing he was wearing the same clothes from yesterday

"I couldn't sleep," He said in fact he hadn't moved from the chair since last night

"I want to thank you for yesterday," She said kneeling in front of him

"For what? " He said taking note of the bruise across her face

"You saved my life, I think if I honestly had been alone I think I could seriously hurt myself or these babies," She said looking into his brown eyes aged with wisdom

"I was so afraid for you," He would never let anyone see him cry but she was his daughter in every sense

"I know Max and I'm so sorry," She stood up and hugged him

"Promise me that will never happen again," He took her arms from around his neck and looked her square in her eyes

"I can't promise I won't have a meltdown but I promise I will never go to that degree again," She kissed his head

"What do you want me to make for breakfast?" Max said standing up

"You know what Max, I'm going make breakfast for you," She said smiling

Remembering last time she had made oatmeal; she had answered the phone and nearly burned the kitchen down

"Tell you what ,We'll just order in," Max said reaching for the takeout menu they kept by the fridge

"No No I can do it, Where do you hide the thing," She gestured up and down

"The spatula?" Max said handing it to her but stopping her,"Please Let's just go to breakfast,"

But before she could answer, Pearl ran into the kitchen looking fearful and skidding when she saw Jennifer standing in the kitchen

"Oh hey Max, can you come outside for a minute," Pearl stuttered

"What's wrong Pearl?" Jennifer wasn't about to get herself completely stressed out again but curiosity was piqued

"Tell you what? There's some cinnamon rolls in the fridge easy quick to make, We'll be back," Max followed her out to the garden

"What's the Matter,Pearlie," He studied her face

"We got big trouble, Elliot Manning is here in Beverly Hills staying at the Palms and I think he's planning something big." Pearl said staring into the window at Jennifer smiling


	11. Information

_A/N This Chapter was written mainly by Co-Author S Davidson _

Pearl Bailey wasn't your average socialite, She didn't wear expensive clothes and she maintained her relationships with people of a lower class, she had been dirt poor growing up and had always ensured that whatever she was given, she would give back 110% percent and having inherited a fortune from each of her eight husbands, she was more than able to.

She also had more connections than the FBI and CIA combined, anyone who came into contact with her became an instant friend and therefore a reliable confidante, trust was an important key to being around Pearl and without trust, you have nothing.

When Pearl first met Jonathan or Charlie, he was a poor kid working on the corner selling papers and she knew instantly that he had a destiny for greatness and so she would stop everyday bring him a sandwich and listen to his ideas about electronics and the future, when he would finish, she would slip a few dollars into his pocket without him realizing and go about her day and he would then say to her the next day, "you know I keep finding money in my jacket but I don't know where it keeps coming from." He had to know on some level it was her but it was important that she also be discreet because she knew how important it was for him to make it on his own

And when he did make that first big investment, she was right there a long side Max grinning like a proud mama.

But of course he became a self made millionaire, she knew she had to step back and allow him to live his life, so she traveled and saw new and interesting things but her heart always belonged to Charlie and she was especially glad when he met and married Jennifer

And so it was the mother in her that made her worry when one of her contacts spotted Elliot Manning at the Palm Hotel when he was supposed to have been on the run in Kenya, Pearl knew that whatever Elliot was doing in California had something to do with Jennifer and the kids.

"Max, what are we going to do?" She said nervously running her hand through her brown hair

"We're going to do our research, get prepared and go step by step," Max had been in enough situations in his long life to know things work and he knew overreacting wouldn't help at all

"Alright, I've got to go get Aubrey," Pearl said shifting her weight

"Look, we'll meet back here later and figure out some sort of plan, for the time being after everything that happened yesterday, Stay cool and don't say a word," Max gripped her shoulders

She nodded nervously thinking

Max went back into the house and she started to follow him but doubled back to the guest house where she made a quick call

"Vincenzo, yah it's Pearl ...I need you to find out something," Pearl spoke quickly

"Anything for you Pearlie," Vincenzo was a big guy, He'd been to prison for intimidating a witness and Pearl had seen to it when he got out, that he got on the straight and narrow, so she hooked him up in the legal department at one of her companies as a guard and because of that he was able to gain a life that didn't involve jail time so he'd do anything for her.

"I need you to find out what business Elliot Manning has in California," Pearl said looking out at the house where she saw Aubrey sitting in her booster seat and Jonathan making faces to get her to laugh

"Elliot Manning," Vincenzo whistled," Pearl, are you in trouble with him? Because he's one bad cat I mean really bad"

"I know he's bad believe me, but he's stalking one of my kids and I need to know why," Pearl said

"Alright, let me make a few phone calls and get back to you," Vincenzo hung up

Pearl slammed her eyes shut for a minute just processing and then went into the house like nothing was the matter, when she knew that the rug would once again be pulled out from underneath the Harts

Jennifer was finally getting to a place where everything finally felt right, that she knew whatever Manning threw at her, she'd be alright.. she had to be ..

For her children's sake

And so like any other Mommy- to-be of twins, she spent what little time she could off of bed rest preparing for their arrival

Even though her father had overseen the construction of the nursery, she still made sure every detail was perfect, that the cribs were setup across from one another and that the dresser holding all the little baby things was put against the wall next to the door and that a big chair was setup under the window so she could sit with her boys and watch the sun come up.

She had finally allowed herself to be excited about being pregnant and she really was, she knew that their existence had saved her existence, her boys would have a life that she couldn't wait to experience through their eyes

In just five weeks, she could be closer to a more perfect life and no one would take that away.

Jonathan watched from the door watching her rearranging the blankets and stuffed animals, knowing her severe case of OCD that made her go over everything to the point he had to stop her before she wore out herself or the floors

"Hey," He wrapped his arms around her neck and she instantly relaxed

"Hey baby," She stood with her head under his chin

"Almost time," He chuckled looking at the blue walls and the car decals on the walls imagining his sons lying in their cribs for the first time, would they have red hair like their sister or would they have his dark hair? Would they be small or chunky? A thousand thoughts were passing through mind but the most important thing that crossed his mind - That he would be there to ensure that they would be coming home to Willow Pond.

"We'll be bringing our boys here, I promise," She whispered reading his mind

"MAMA!" a voice screamed from down the hallway

"Another country heard from," Jonathan chuckled

"Mama where is you!" Aubrey wanted to know

"In your brother's room!" Jennifer called

"Come look at what Grandpa got me!" Aubrey called back

"Oh, now what?" Jennifer rolled her eyes and walked into the hallway to find her daughter riding a big wheel in nothing but her underwear and a cookie in her hand with Max's old sailor hat on her head

"Grandpa bought me a bike!" She smiled proudly, she hadn't been too sure of him at first but if he kept buying her stuff, she'd certainly grow to love him

"Alright Annie Oakley, time to get dressed" Jennifer resisted the urge to laugh, Jonathan had gone back into the nursery and laughed until he cried

After getting her daughter dressed, Jennifer brought her into their bedroom and they played a few games including her letters and colors which she was getting good at

After a few hours of playing, Jennifer needed a nap so she called down to Pearl who gleefully came up to check on them both and took Aubrey down to where Jonathan was constructing her swing set as promised.

Aubrey was racing around the yard when Pearl's phone went off

"Pearlie, you won't believe what I've found," Vincenzo said

"Lay it on me Big Boy" Pearl watching Aubrey go back and forth

"Well he's not alone, he's with a woman, and apparently they're getting married, a big lavish event at the hotel this weekend."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! I got it from the mouth of the manager himself."

"What the hell is he playing at?" Pearl thought out loud.

"Want me to keep on it?"

"Yes, see what you can find out about her, keep a close eye on him, and keep in touch."

"Will do!"

Pearl looked over at Max and Jonathan who seemed to be having a little trouble with the swing set, even Aubrey had stopped to watch and Pearl walked across to stand beside her, still trying to make sense of what Manning was up to. She'd wait to hear what Vincenzo could dig up on the bride, what kind of woman would marry a man like him? He was very wealthy and she supposed he was handsome, but he was completely deranged and from a conversation she'd had with Jennifer she knew it was his violent side and outrageous behaviour that had made her leave him. Either the woman was a complete idiot or she was as bad as him.

The afternoon passed peacefully, Jonathan and Max finished building the swing set while Pearl supervised them and kept an eye on Aubrey, at one point taking her back in for a nap. Pearl put her in her own bed rather than in with Jennifer as she was becoming too used to sleeping with her Mama and they wanted her in a normal routine now that she'd settled in.

Pearl was making coffee as Jonathan and Max stood surveying their completed handiwork, when her cell phone rang.

"Vincenzo?…"

"Manning's wife to be is an actress, or rather was an actress. I've never heard of her but Lenny says she was in a movie he once rented, I know the kind of movies Lenny rents so she's not a classy broad."

"If she's marrying him she's a no taste broad."

"She's been married a couple of times before and her last husband was very wealthy too, he was heir to some large organization. She doesn't have any kids, don't know if it's by choice or not though."

"I'm still trying to work out how he got back in to the country and is managing to swan about the place when he's a wanted man."

"Ah but I'm not sure he is, some old British guy who used to be in the OSS used his CIA contacts to make sure there was no trouble with the Kenyan government or ours which pretty much meant neither kidnapping happened. If the original kidnapping didn't happen then he's not guilty of anything and is a free man."

"Shit. Ok Vincenzo, thank you for the information. Keep an eye on him for me though!"

"Anything for you Pearlie! I'll head back to the hotel now, it's a lovely afternoon to sit by a pool… people watching."

So Elliot knew he was free to do what he wanted, and be where he wanted, and the only reason he'd come to California had to be to do with Jennifer. Pearl was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Pleased with himself for finally finishing the swing set Jonathan headed up to see if Jennifer was awake, and he smiled when he saw that she was. She was propped up by a bunch of pillows and was reading a book. She looked up as he came in to the room.

"Hi Darling, are you finished?"

"Yes, I can't wait for Aubrey to try it out."

"Where is she?"

"Having a nap, she was out on her little bike most of the afternoon."

"Switch the monitor on please, I love to hear her when she wakes up."

"I think she'll be shouting to see the swing set this time when she wakes up!" Jonathan laughed, remembering the curious looks she was giving him while he cursed trying to put it together. Reaching over he did as Jennifer had asked.

"She loves the garden, it's great for her to spend so much time outdoors."

"Her playhouse is being delivered in a couple of days, but the guys who deliver it assemble it." He grinned and she smiled at him then patted the bed beside her

"Why don't you come here and hold me for a while."

"Are you ok baby?"

"I'm fine, I just feel a bit unsettled today. A hug will help." Jonathan slipped off his shoes and climbed over next to her, taking her in his arms he held her against him and kissed her head, feeling her relax in his embrace.

They lay like that for a while in silence and were amused when they eventually heard her voice through the baby monitor.

"Hello!" They heard Aubrey say, then she said something they couldn't make out and for a moment they thought she was chatting to her toys. She started chuckling and it grew in to a laugh like there was something really funny happening. Jonathan went to go and get her but suddenly Jennifer felt her whole body go cold with an unexplained terror and she was out of bed as fast as a heavily pregnant woman could be.

"Jennifer?" Jonathan had no idea what she was doing but he followed her as she ran to Aubrey's room and threw open the door, almost falling over the safety gate in her haste. Jonathan managed to grab her before she lost her balance, still completely shocked by her behavior. She couldn't release the catch on the gate so Jonathan did it for her letting her in to the room ahead of him.

Aubrey was sitting on her bed and she smiled at them, unaware of her Mother's panic.

"Look Mama." She said holding up a stuffed toy for them to see. "It's a Roo."

Jennifer took one look at the toy Kangaroo and thought she was going to throw up.

There was only one person who would have given Aubrey that toy.


	12. Misunderstandings

Jennifer resisted the urge to race across the room and yank the Kangaroo out of her daughter's hand because that would be being a bad mommy

"Baby, where did you get Roo?," Jonathan kneeled down beside the bed getting eye to eye with Aubrey

Aubrey nodded and shrugged, she was two and it was a toy, what more did they need to know?

"Jonathan," Jennifer said urgently

"I know," Jonathan looked into her fearful eyes, "Get everyone together and meet me out by the swing set."

Jennifer nodded and went downstairs while Jonathan stayed with the baby

"Baby, can I see that?" Jonathan held out his hand

Aubrey twisted away and held the Kangaroo close to her chest," No, Daddy!"

"Aubrey, give me the Kangaroo now." Jonathan was becoming frantic and if he had to, he'd rip it out of her small hand

"No it's mine!" Aubrey yelled

"That's it, I'm sorry Baby," He jerked it out of her hand and when she cried, he felt like the worst father in the world but who knows if that thing was contaminated or not, He'd rather make her cry than have her get sick.

He picked up his screaming child and carried her down the stairs, apologizing to her, hoping that she would understand someday but at this moment he was her Daddy and he needed to make sure that whoever had come after her before wouldn't be repeating the cycle.

She screamed until her face was red, until he could no longer hear out of his ear. When he reached the backyard Jennifer understood without words what had happened and simply took her daughter, calming her down and after a few minutes she worked her way down to a snuffle.

Jonathan quickly retold what had happened, only moments before and each person looked at each other in horror, none of them had been in her room except for Pearl but she had only been in and out, not long enough to actually see anything

"Alright let's go over where everyone's been for the last few hours," Jennifer said sitting down in the grass, it was getting too painful to stand up for too long

"Well, you and I were upstairs, Stephen's out somewhere, Max where were you?" Jonathan said sitting on the swing

"Working on dinner in the kitchen," Max said

"Pearlie, where were you?" Jonathan asked swinging back and forth a little

"Making coffee in the kitchen with Max," Pearl said wanting desperately to tell them about the conversation she had with Vincenzo but knew that the time was not right

"Alright so that takes care of us, who's been here the last few days?"

"Well there was the delivery guy and the construction guys," Max said rubbing his head, "Also an Avon Lady"

"An Avon Lady?" Pearl said," Max, what did she look like?"

"Kinda tall, reddish brown hair, in fact, She looked sort a like Mrs.H" Max remembered

"That Bitch!" Pearl said, not realizing she said it so loudly

"What Bitch?" Jennifer said

"Yah what bitch?" Aubrey repeated

"We don't repeat naughty words and if you say it again, You'll go into time out," Jennifer said looking into her daughter's eyes to prove her point

"Yes Mama," She snuggled back into her mama's chest and sucked her thumb

"Pearl, what do you know?" Jonathan stopped swinging and walked over to her

"Nothing," She shook her head just as her cell rang and walked further into the garden

"You won't believe what I've found out," Vincenzo said breathlessly and without letting her speak, "This Manning guy has been jonesing for some broad in Beverly Hills and this woman's he's marrying is the exact replica, I seen pictures and I got one of my boys to go into his hotel room, apparently he's planning something around a month from now."

"Oh my god, Do me a favor go back in there see if you can find a floor plan of a house on Willow Pond," Pearl said

"You got it," Vincenzo hung up

She turned and found herself face to face with Jonathan

"What have you done?" Jonathan demanded

"It's not what you think!" Pearl said but he held up his hand to shush her

"I allowed you into my home, to take care of my daughter and you've been working with Manning this whole time," He looked so crushed

"Jonathan, I-"but she knew he wasn't willing to listen to her

"Just get off my property" Jonathan growled and stalked off

She just stared sadly at his back and walked into the guest house, where she began to pack

She was halfway done when Max came to the door

"Jonathan's pissed, what happened?"

"I got a call from one of my informants and he only heard the tail end, Max I swear I would never hurt any of them," Pearl fell into his arms

"Pearlie, tell me what the informant said and I'll fix it I swear I will," Max kissed her head

She told him what Vincenzo said including the date...a month from now which would put Jennifer around the time of her delivery and what Manning was potentially planning and that she told Vincenzo to go back into the hotel room to get more information

"You did the right thing, He's just so stressed out," Max said letting her go

"I know and I would never want to add to it," Pearl sank down on the couch

"Tell you what, Mr. Millionaire doesn't believe anything without hard evidence so let's go get him some," He took her hand and pulled her out across the yard and into the driveway.

Jennifer happened to have gone up to their bedroom and missed the goings on between Jonathan and Pearl so when she saw Max drag her across the yard, she called out

"Hey where are you going?"

"Out, take the casserole out of the oven in about a half-hour," Max called back before putting the car into drive and peeling out

Jonathan was outside pacing and thinking that maybe he hadn't quite heard the conversation when he went to the guest house, he saw her suitcase but she wasn't there

Shaking his head, he went upstairs to find Jennifer bathing Aubrey

"Have you seen Pearl," He asked watching her splash the baby

"Yah she left about 20 minutes ago with Max," She looked up at him

"Darling, I'm just going to out for a bit...will you be alright?" he kissed her head

"Well, we're going to finish our bath, have some ice cream and watch a movie, I think we'll be alright"

"Ice cream!" Aubrey yelled and tried to dive from the side of the tub but she was much too slow and her mama caught her

"I think it maybe an early bedtime for Evil Kenivel here," Jennifer rolled her eyes

Jonathan laughed as he left the bathroom and went to his car

"LA Mobile, I need you to track down a location of a car, license plate OLDMAXER, Yes that's the right license plate," He said leaving Willow Pond

Max and Pearl drove to the West Palm Hotel in near silence, each wondering what they were getting themselves into, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence and Max held her hand the entire time.

It took a few minutes for LA Mobile to get back to Jonathan and he was amazed to find that he was headed in almost the same direction as Max which had been a lucky guess. He just needed to make a sharp right then double back slightly and turn left then he was on the same road with absolutely no idea where they were headed.

His mind wandered back to the incident with the toy Kangaroo and he knew Jennifer had been convinced that it was Elliot who'd been in their house. He'd loved to have discounted that theory but he wasn't sure he could. As far as they'd known then he was still on the run, but he knew that man was capable of most things.

Max mentioning the Avon lady did sound odd, they didn't exactly live on the normal run for sales reps and most of them who passed wouldn't have bothered stopping when their security gates were closed. I guess with everything else that had been going on recently he couldn't blame Max for not finding it strange, an Avon lady seemed innocent enough.

And what was Pearl's involvement, he heard her talking about a floor plan of their house and instinct told him it was linked to Manning. He'd reacted and accused Pearl of colluding with him but deep down he didn't believe that and the fact that Max and Pearl had taken off together made him more convinced that the two of them knew something and weren't telling him and Jennifer.

Max pulled up in front of the hotel and looked at the parking signs, he quickly decided on self parking so's they could get away fast if they needed to. As he pulled in to a space Pearl called Vincenzo.

The phone rang a few times but he didn't answer. "He's not picking up, he must be in the middle of something." Max nodded and smiled at her.

"We'll wait until he calls back."

Five minutes later, just as Jonathan pulled in to the hotel parking lot, Pearl's phone rang and she answered quickly

"Vincenzo?"

"Pearl, no luck getting back in, he and the woman are there now."

"Just the two of them?"

"Yes. What do you need me to do now?"

"Just wait around please."

"No problem!"

Max looked at her questioningly as she disconnected

"What's he saying?"

"Manning is definitely here, him and the woman."

"Well he don't know me!" Max told her

"He doesn't, but you were in one of the Wedding photo's he sent Jennifer, and if the woman with him is your mystery Avon lady then she'll recognize you too."

"What are we going to do then, we can't just sit and do nothing."

They hadn't noticed Jonathan approaching their car and were startled when he knocked on the window. Max put the window down and looked at him.

"Mr. H, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you two the same question."

"How did you find us Jonathan?" Pearl asked him quietly

"I had LA Mobile trace the car, all of our cars have trackers that their satellite can pick up."

"Right… "

"What the hell is going on?" Jonathan demanded

"Get in the car Mr. H." Max instructed closing the window. Jonathan got in the back and sat in the middle of the seat looking at them both for an answer.

Max and Pearl exchanged a glance and Max nodded to her.

"Elliott Manning is here. He isn't on the run because he has no reason to be in the eyes of the law."

"What do you mean?"

"Jennifer's Dad made some calls to make sure you and she were off the hook for talking Aubrey from Kenya with force. People were badly injured in the attack on the compound and money changed hands to hush the whole thing up. The investigation on Elliot was dropped by the local Police which means that although you are off the hook, so is he!"

"Jesus. I never thought about it like that!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Things work differently there than in our country."

"So do you know where exactly he is?

"Right here in the hotel… planning his Wedding." Pearl added seeing the incredulous look on Jonathan's face.

"This is getting more ridiculous by the second."

Back at the house Jennifer and Aubrey were sitting on the sofa eating the promised ice cream and watching Lion King. Aubrey loved the film and especially Simba and Nala. Jennifer found the association to Africa a little uncomfortable, but it seemed Aubrey was a different child when watching the movie and that interested Jennifer. The phone rang and Jennifer debated not answering as she knew Jonathan would call her cell if it was him.

"Phone Mama!" Aubrey stated without taking her eyes from the screen. Jennifer smiled and reached to lift the cordless phone on the table next to her.

"Hello, Jennifer Hart." She still loved saying that!

"Mrs. Hart, it's LA Mobile, we were trying to contact your husband on his car phone but can't get a response. The cell phone number we have for him is disconnected, do you have an updated one please?" Jonathan had changed all of their numbers when they got back from Kenya

"I can pass on a message to him to call you if you'd like?"

"Thank you. Tell him it's about the car he was tracing, we have it static at the West Palms Hotel and if he needs us to continue the trace then to get back to us."

"I'll pass that on…" Jennifer was confused

"Oh sorry Mrs. Hart, my colleague has just informed me that Mr. Hart's car is there now too so he must have found them."

Them? She was even more confused but quickly thanked the woman on the phone before hanging up.

"Oh no, Scar!" Aubrey shouted at the screen and Jennifer looked up.

Scar… the bad guy.

Suddenly it started to make sense. If they'd all gone it must have something to do with Elliot. Jennifer knew Pearl was well connected and she'd seen her and Max deep in conversation while she was making coffee earlier. She eased herself up from the sofa and held her hand out to Aubrey who continued to look at the screen totally enthralled.

"Come on sweetie, we're going in the car." Her voice sounding calmer than she felt.

"Watchin' Simba Mama!"

"I know you are Aubrey but we'll see it when we get back. We need to go and see what Daddy is doing."

"A surprise?" The little girl exclaimed excitedly.

"We'll soon see." Jennifer took her daughter's hand and switched the TV off as they headed out the door, pausing only to put shoes on, and when Aubrey insisted on her Ugg boots with her pj's Jennifer didn't argue.

They got in the car, Jennifer thanking the manufacturers of easy fasten car seat harnesses and adjustable steering wheels as her expanding bump was certainly making things a bit more awkward these days.

Back in the hotel car park Jonathan Max and Pearl were waiting for Vincenzo to call back and Jonathan was rapidly losing patience.

"Charlie, there's no point in getting worked up. We know where he is and have people watching him. We need to know what his plans are before we can make a move. If it's something criminal then we'd be better leaving it to the Police."

"I'd be better confronting him and seeing what he wants."

"I think we know what he wants… who he wants."

"Over my dead body!" He was getting more angry by the minute.

"If you're not careful it very well might be." Pearl told him frankly. "Jennifer and your children need you in one piece."

"I know they do, but they also need to be safe and to live normal lives, not always looking over their shoulders."

"We need to give it some time. Why don't you go home and help Jennifer put your daughter to her bed, we'll stay here and see if Vincenzo comes up with anything else, they might go out for the evening and he'll get someone in to look around."

Jonathan was beginning to think Pearl was right and he sat back and looked at them both a moment.

"Thank you for everything, it means a lot to me… to both of us."

Jonathan reached to open the car door and as he got out he looked back at them.

"Give our love to Jennifer and Aubrey and we'll see you later."

"Jennifer and Aubrey!" Jonathan repeated and Max laughed

"Yeah, you know them two beautiful redheads…" Stopping suddenly as he saw the look on Jonathan's face and followed his gaze across the car park where getting out of a car in a Mother and Toddler space closest to the hotel were a woman and a little girl.

"Oh my God! Jennifer and Aubrey…"

"Get them out of here now!" Max started to get out of the car but Jonathan had beat him to it.

Jonathan was angry with her, first with LA mobile then with her, why would she come here and bring their daughter?

"Hi Daddy!" Aubrey yelled

"Darling, what are you doing here?" Jonathan demanded

"Ending this now, I will not live in fear," Jennifer said shifting her weight under her daughter


	13. Questions and Answers

_A/N This was written and fixed SDAVIDSON by and if it sucks..tough cookies THE GOOD STUFF'S ON THE WAY WE PROMISE  
><em>

"Darling, you can barely stand up so how are you going to confront this maniac?" Jonathan asked taking back their daughter," Go home, I'll take care of this,"

"And if he kills you, who is going to take of us?" Jennifer narrowed her eyes

"I won't have you put our children in danger," Jonathan was furious with her, more furious than he'd ever been

"And I'm not going to have them afraid for their lives every moment of every day," Jennifer stood her ground, "We can fight about this until the end of time, Darling or we can end this now…are you with me?"

"Always," Jonathan said "but when this is over, we're going to have it out."

"I know," Jennifer said kissing his nose

"Let's get into Max's car and figure this out," But it wasn't necessary because Pearl jogged over

"Jenny, What in the world are you doing here?" Pearl demanded

"Never mind that, what's wrong," Jennifer waved her hand

"I just got off the phone with one of my boys, apparently the wedding's been pushed up and they're getting married in just an hour," Pearl said

"Who's getting married?" Jennifer asked

"Alright so round up the guys and we'll go into the hotel, see what's happening," Jonathan putting his daughter on the ground, for a two year old she had a habit of becoming heavy after awhile

"You got it, Boss!" Pearl quickly dialed Vincenzo who agreed to meet them in the indoor pool in 20 minutes

"Who's getting married?" Jennifer asked again

"But what do we do with Aubrey," Pearl asked watching the little girl dance around her Daddy's legs,

"Go get a room, we'll turn on a Disney movie and lock the door," Jonathan said handing her his credit card

"Put that away, I've got this...Come on Babes!" Aubrey took Pearl's hand and walked away

"Hello? Remember me, the pregnant one...Who's Getting Married?" Jennifer demanded

"I'll explain it to you later, Come on, we need to get Max and meet the guys," Jonathan took her hand and they left

Upstairs in the hotel room, Pearl had a serious talk with Aubrey, who at two understood that she needed to listen and pay attention

"Aubrey," She placed her on the bed and made sure they locked eyes, "Mama, Daddy, Poppa and I have to go do something, we'll be back in really quickly but we need you to stay here and watch Lion King, Alright?"

Aubrey nodded

"And I need you not to open the door except for us alright, in fact we'll have a code word so that when one of us uses it, you can open the door for us," Pearl knew that Aubrey would never remember to ask for a code word but she figured she'd give it a shot

"The code word is Elmo, can you remember that?"

"Elmo ...yup I love Elmo!" Aubrey said climbing up onto the pillows and getting comfortable

"Good Girl," Pearl kissed her head and started to walk away but took one last look at that sweet little face

She hoped she was making the right decision leaving her here

Pearl took the elevator to the pool where she saw Jennifer laying on a lounge chair with her eyes closed

"Are you alright?" She was concerned because the past few days had been overwhelming and being pregnant, Jennifer was risking everything and if this stunt they were going to do wasn't going to send her into labor, then she was more solid than Pearl thought

"I'm fine, just relaxing a moment," She didn't want to say that she was cramping slightly because instead of finishing this, she would be in the hospital strapped to a fetal monitor and worrying that she'd be attacked at any moment

When this was over and it was definitely over today , she planned on soaking in the tub and staying in bed for the next four weeks because if Jonathan found out she was cramping now… He'd kill her and she meant actually kill her

Jennifer plastered a smile on her face when Jonathan came in with a 200lb 6'7 guy wearing a turtle neck and jeans followed by two similarly dressed men

"Darling, this is Vincenzo, Rocky and Louie, Guys this is my wife Jennifer," Jonathan said pointing to Jennifer

"Pleased to meet you Ma'am," for a gruff looking guy, he had impeccable manners

She shook his hand in awe, she had only seen these guys in old gangster movies and never this close

"Please, call me Jennifer,"

"Sorry Ma'am that wouldn't be right," Vincenzo nodded

Who knew Hired guns had manners?

"So what have you boys got planned," Pearl asked

"Well we was thinking we'd just "Borrow him" from his hotel room for a bit and then I think Mr. Hart said he wanted a conversation with Mr. Manning and then I don't know the boys were talking about taking him for a ride," Louie said from behind

"A Ride?" Pearl and Jennifer said together.

"We've probably given you enough information already. You ladies don't need to know no more than that!" The ladies nodded in unison.

Jonathan stepped forward and put his arms around Jennifer.

"Elliot is definitely here then?"

"Yes he is. I want you to go and make sure Aubrey is ok, I don't want her on her own, she's too little. The boys and I will go and check on Manning and I promise you that when anything is happening I'll come and get you. Ok?"

Knowing he was right about Aubrey, and knowing she was still cramping, Jennifer nodded.

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Is it him who's getting married?"

"Yes it is, this afternoon!"

"Who is he marrying?"

"The Avon Lady by all accounts…. Ok Darling we need to go. See you soon."

"The Avon Lady?" Jennifer looked at Pearl who shrugged her shoulders and they headed back to the room where Pearl had left Aubrey a few minutes before.

Jennifer took the swipe card from Pearl and put it in the lock, calling to Aubrey that it was her and in a moment she and Pearl were in the room. Aubrey was lying on the bed, totally enthralled by Timon and Pumba singing to Simba.

"Are you ok baby?"

"Hakuna Matata Mama!" Jennifer knew she was referring to the song, but she hoped it was a good omen and that soon they'd have no worries.

Jennifer sat down on the bed and Aubrey continued to watch the screen, unaware of anything being wrong.

Pearl paced up and down a bit and Jennifer watched her as she tried unsuccessfully to relax. After a few minutes she climbed in to the bed beside Aubrey and lay down. Putting both her hands on her bump she rubbed it gently and took a few deep breaths.

"Jennifer, are you ok honey?" Pearl stopped pacing.

"I'm fine Pearl, just a few Braxton Hicks and there's not much room in there now so the boys don't like it when everything tightens." Pearl nodded sympathetically.

"Just a few more weeks and it'll all be over and you'll be holding your precious boys in your arms."

"I know, it can't come quickly enough in some ways. I just feel that we haven't had enough time just us and Aubrey though. I don't want her feeling left out."

"I'm sure she won't, you'll make sure she still has time with you and Jonathan, and Max and I will spoil her for you."

"Cookies Max!" Aubrey shouted her catch phrase and both women laughed.

On the 21st floor Elliot Manning was admiring his tuxedo clad profile in the mirror and smiling to himself that his scheme was all coming together. Meeting Jillian again after all these years had been a stroke of luck, she wasn't Jennifer Edwards but then nobody else could come close so anyone would be second best. Elliot had never liked being on his own, he needed a woman in his life and he supposed she was good enough company. She knew how he'd felt about Jennifer but she was so in love with him herself that she'd subtly tried to look like her for him, and she'd been fine about going to the Hart house with the toy Kangaroo. Of course he'd told her that the kid was his and Jennifer's and the Harts were keeping her from him. She had never been to Kenya so had no idea of what had gone on there, but he'd shown her pictures and had told her as soon as they got his daughter back they'd be living there as a family. It was a bit of a shock when she said she couldn't have kids, but then he found out Jennifer was pregnant with twins and he decided that if he was taking one kid back he might as well take all three. Jillian had been so excited when he suggested moving the Wedding forward, it was great for his ego. It would be even better for his bank balance when he turned up with her and their kids, and his old man finally released his family trust fund. Having Jennifer's kid and passing her off as his hadn't been enough for his Father, he insisted it was only when he saw that Elliot was settled down and married with children that he'd come through. He'd told his Father that he and his wife were living in Kenya and as she was pregnant they couldn't come to the US, but as soon as they could they'd visit him.

Another few weeks and his waiting would be over, he'd finally get what was his, what he would have had years ago if Jennifer hadn't left him. It was all her fault, he wouldn't have had heavies chasing him for the money he'd borrowed if she'd married him, and he wouldn't have had to leave the country.

When he'd taken the baby the plan had been to get money from Jonathan Hart, but then he figured she might be worth more if he held on to her. He'd actually quite liked the kid as she'd gotten older and he'd gotten a real kick out of the pain he knew he'd caused Jennifer, figuring she deserved it.

Jonathan and Vincenzo's boys were on their way up to Manning's room. Jonathan had decided that the boys would stand back out of sight to begin with and he'd confront Manning himself then take it from there.

Knocking on the door Jonathan stood back and waited, willing himself to be calm.

Elliot heard the knock and assumed it was the Wedding organizer again, the damn woman had been to see him three times already.

Jonathan subconsciously made a fist then relaxed his hand a few times while he was waiting. He was just going to talk to him, like he had in Kenya. He wouldn't be intimidated. He wouldn't let himself be wound up. He wouldn't resort to violence.

Elliot opened the door, a fixed smile on his face.

Jonathan took one look at his smarmy expression, stepped forward and knocked it off.

Elliot got to his feet and launched himself at Jonathan, that lucky bastard wasn't standing in his way again. He needed that money and so he needed those kids. Turning Jonathan around Elliot took another swing at him but suddenly he was hit from behind by a 6'8 400lb guy, who picked him up by the neck and threw him over his shoulder, like a dishrag.

"Where to now Mr. Hart?"

"Somewhere private that nobody will come looking for him when the Wedding starts."

"The cleaner's room on the top floor. They won't be back there at this time of day." Rocco said carrying Manning over his shoulder and up 3 floors quite easily. They took him in to the room and put him on a chair. Rocco pulled a length of rope from his pocket and tied it around Manning and the chair.

"Now What?"

"Louie can you go and get my wife please. I promised she could be in on this bit, she'll never forgive me if I don't keep my word."

When Louie knocked on the door Pearl answered as Jennifer and Aubrey were lying together on the bed.

"What's up Louie?"

"Mr. Hart sent me to get Mrs. Hart as they've got Manning tied up in the cleaners room on the top floor and the Wedding is due to start soon so they figure someone might come looking for him."

Jennifer swung her legs over the edge of the bed and Pearl caught the look of pain that crossed her face.

"Are you ok honey? Maybe you should sit this one out?"

"I'll be fine Pearl. Will you stay with Aubrey, Jonathan was right about her being too little to stay by herself."

"Of course I will… You be careful Jennifer, that's precious cargo you have on board."

Jennifer smiled and nodded then followed Louie.

When they got to the cleaner's room Louie opened the door and let Jennifer step in. The sight of Elliot unconscious in the chair filled her with a mixture of anger and terror and the cramping in her abdomen was getting tighter which was making her agitated.

Jonathan spotted the grimace Jennifer was wearing and noticed she was swaying back and forth a little as she looked at Manning.

" Darling, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She nodded

Now it was a waiting game as they sat and watched for any movement from the man tied to the chair.

After a half hour of alternating between pacing the floor and sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair Jennifer finally lost patience waiting for Elliot to regain consciousness so she went to the sink and got a cup of cold water.

She came back, got two feet from Elliot's face and threw the water, it was cold enough to jolt him awake.

"Huh? What's going on?" Elliot said unsure of how he'd gone from his room to this room, looking round he saw the three goons, Max, Jonathan and Jennifer.

"Good Morning Sunshine," Jennifer smiled satisfied he was conscious.

"What's this? Can't handle your own problems, Mom, so you had to delegate." Elliot sneered

"There will be a question and answer period for you in a moment, "Jennifer said wishing she could sit down as another spasm ripped through her, "But first I have some questions."

"Go to Hell." Elliot spat out

"Thanks to you, you bastard, we've already been to hell!" Jennifer said getting angrier by the minute.

Louie went behind him and smacked him upside the head, "I believe the Lady was speaking."

"Now, where was I, Oh yes, my questions," Jennifer wanted to hug Louie, "Why did you do all this?"

Elliot thought about making a smart-ass comment but with these guys, he might actually wind up dead

"Eh, Jillian wanted a baby and I'm not that keen on kids, and the thought of witnessing a birth completely disgusted me… Actually I'd have watched you give birth…." That smirk was back and Jonathan wanted to smash him but Jennifer just shook her head. "I saw you one day on the street, getting ready to drop that thing I figure two birds, one stone,"

"But when I was pregnant I was living in Maryland," Jennifer wondered how he could possibly have seen her.

"I was on business and saw you in a doctor's office," Elliot shrugged as best he could despite the rope,"

"Why Assad?" Jonathan cut in.

"I needed someone who was batshit crazy and no better than him, besides he was so obsessed with the idea of getting a Princess, he'd have kidnapped Lady GaGa given the chance."

"Then why did you kill him?" Jennifer asked

"Because he freaked when he saw the cops and was going to tell." Elliot was beginning to lose feeling in his arms

"Who was the baby in the car?" Jonathan's turn to ask

"That was a doll. Right after Assad took her we met in the parking lot and he left me with the baby." Elliot smiled evilly

"How could you let me think my baby was dead? For almost two years you let me think that my baby was killed, what kind of person does that?" Jennifer was getting upset now but she was trying hard not to show vulnerability in front of him. "You're a monster."

"That was just gravy." Elliot said

"And the Kangaroo?" the pain in her belly was getting worse now.

"Well I know what a big animal lover you are and what better way to say "Happy Wedding." Elliot was enjoying this way too much, so Louie tightened the rope and he yelped

"Watch it Buddy!"

"Excuse me?" Louie asked

"Nuthin,"

"You were warning us that you were still out there. Still watching and waiting. What was it you were waiting to do Elliot?"

Jennifer had had enough, she was in pain and wanted to go home. She cringed when she followed his line of vision straight to her bump and she instinctively placed her hand on it as he laughed.

He'd wanted her boys as well as Aubrey and she knew he was crazy enough to try anything. The thought that they'd have had to go through the pain of having that which was most precious to them taken away again was overwhelming and Jennifer could hear a roaring in her ears as the fury rushed through her. She knew her blood pressure was on the up as she had a thumping headache. She should be keeping calm, resting and protecting her babies, not having a confrontation with this monster. She should have let Jonathan and the heavies take care of it, she shouldn't have been so selfish, wanting to get her revenge at any price.

Suddenly she knew she had to end her part in this and get back to what was really important. If she didn't keep her boy's safe until they were born there would be no need to worry about what might happen after. She took a deep breath and moved closer to him.

"Elliot, here's what we're going to do...my boys here are going to take you for a ride, whether you return or not, that's up to them but I want you to know that if you come back alive, you will leave my family alone, especially my children...Our children. I was never yours and neither are they, I belong to Jonathan, this is our family and I swear to you that if the guys decide not to kill you and I ever see you anywhere near us again, I will kill you myself." Jennifer got right in Elliot's face so he could see that her eyes were cold and she meant business.

Jonathan had seen enough, he knew she was in discomfort and he wanted her out of there. He reached for her arm and turned her away from Elliot and towards the door. As Jennifer and Jonathan left the room she turned towards him one last time and said "And if she hasn't gone forever after being jilted, tell your girlfriend if she comes near our home again, she'll know what true pain is."

Just as they turned the corner, they heard Elliot scream in pain but felt no reason to go back to see what or who was the cause. They were finally finished with him.

That Night, Jonathan invited everyone back to the house for a celebratory dinner catered by Wolfgang Puck, Jennifer still wasn't feeling well and wasn't up for entertaining but she knew that this was important, they'd be given some sort of closure and it needed to celebrated

After an amazing dinner and laughing with the fellas, who despite their scary demeanor were actually quite sweet and kind, Rocco even mentioned his own daughter was expecting his first grandchild any time now and he was proud of her, she'd be left a widow after her fiancée had been killed over in Iraq and the only thing holding her up was that baby so he knew how Jennifer felt about the whole situation regarding Manning and Aubrey.

Stephen, who'd been gone for the whole ordeal also made an announcement, that because his daughter and grandchildren were at peace, he'd be going home that night to Maryland and await the call regarding the babies

Jennifer started to object but then realized he wasn't used to all this chaos and that he in his own way had been grieving for his lost granddaughter as well, so after everyone left and he was packed up, she walked him to the car and just before he got in, took her face into his hands and said "So much like your mother, Dear Girl, remember to enjoy this time with your children."

She nearly cried but instead she took his hand, put it on her belly to feel the babies kick without saying a word.

That night she put her daughter to bed with the peace of mind knowing that nothing could happen while she slept. She still kissed her baby's tiny nose and memorized her movements so much like her own.

When she got into the bedroom, Jonathan had a bottle of champagne waiting to toast privately

"To Us," He whispered

"To the future," She whispered back smiling

Despite her advance pregnancy, he found her beautiful and desirable and so when he made a move to kiss her neck, she blushed, "Jonathan I'm as big as a house,"

"And yet still gorgeous, come on Red, it's been far too long," he said his voice giving her goose bumps

She gave into him because she wanted it as much as he did, and so they made love with the passion that had before the events of the past two years.

After making love, and Jonathan was asleep, she realized she had to go to the bathroom, struggling out of the bed feeling heavier than she ever imagined

She finished her business and was suddenly hit with a cramp, rubbing it away she started to walk back into the bedroom when she looked down and realized she was bleeding heavily.

"JONATHAN!" She screamed, "oh no not now please please,"


	14. Giving Birth

_A__/N I know this skips a head but I promise Elliot will get what's coming _

Two Weeks Later

It had been more than two weeks since the incident with Manning and the night she began bleeding, when she had woken up that night to go to the bathroom and realized she was bleeding heavily, when she had screamed for Jonathan and he'd rushed in taken a look at all the blood and immediately carried her out to the car, without telling anyone..There was no time

By the time they reached the hospital, she had begun contracting and bleeding even more, later on when Jonathan would go back to the car, he would find a blood stain ingrained into the leather, a reminder of what had happened

She was immediately transported to the ER department and strapped to a fetal monitor, and begun a series of tests, it was determined Baby boy A was fine but Baby Boy B was breech and repeatedly leaning against the cord, cutting off his own oxygen supply, it was thought at that moment she would need an emergency c-section but it was thought that maybe if she went on totally and complete immobile bed rest in the hospital, the baby would reverse his position and get off the cord, The doctors had pointed out that if Jonathan had waited any longer to get her to the hospital, all three of them would have bled out and died

Jennifer was devasted, She had been fighting so hard for one child and she ended up putting her two other children in just as much danger, while the doctors and nurses were running around trying to get her contractions to stop and ensure her cervix wouldn't dilate anymore, Jennifer begged to see Jonathan but he was immediately pushed into the waiting room

Jonathan slide down the wall of the hospital and cried, he would never survive if he lost all three of them but like Jennifer had thought before when he would go on dangerous adventures, That he would raise their daughter as her mother would have wanted but he wanted Jennifer and their boys, they had been through too much not to bring the babies home

And so with enough medication to stop Sid Vicious in his tracks, she was transported to the Maternity department, her new home away from home. She would remain here until the birth and for two weeks after, the biggest piece of her stay would being avoiding all stress, which would never be easy but necessary

Being completely immobile is never easy and the fear that any position she put herself into would harm the babies was making her crazy, she wished there was some way to look inside herself and make sure that her boys were alright ..

Jonathan understood that she was beating herself for allowing the stress to get to this point and he was angry with her but at this point it would be ridiculous to put that on her, so every day he would visit her, climb into her bed and wrap his arms around her, letting her cry and apologize even though every time she should would, he would tell her it wasn't her fault ..

He also decided that after these babies were born, it would be the last of her pregnancies it was too much on both of them.

Pearl would bring Aubrey by to visit her Mama but like most two year olds, she would stay still for five minutes then take off exploring down the hallway of the hospital with Pearl chasing behind her, after about an hour of back and forth..Jennifer would just ask her to take the baby home and even though Pearl knew it was killing her, it was the best and after awhile Jonathan would just tell Pearl to keep her at Willow Pond, a hospital isn't exactly a playground for a kid

Stephen and Max would take turns sitting with Jennifer, reading out loud her favorite books and just talking with her but they could see how badly she was suffering and after while, would just watch her television with her and would only come back to give Jonathan a break, who would go back and forth from the hospital to take a shower, change his clothes, play with Aubrey and come back, that only added to Jennifer's guilt that he had abandoned his first baby, Hart Industries for her

She was sinking further and further into a deep depression and she wondered if she could pull herself out of it

Or If she wanted to pull herself out at all

She fell even further when the pediatric doctors came and told her that because baby boy B was constantly sitting on his cord, cutting off the oxygen that there might be a chance he might have brain damage or other neurological problems but they wouldn't know that until he was born, Jonathan tried not show he was crushed but when his face fell, Jennifer knew instantly he blamed her, if She had just listened and stayed at home, this might not have happened and their son would be born healthy like his brother and sister, when she tried to say this, both the Doctor and Jonathan lied to her and said that wasn't the cause, that no matter what had happened, he'd still be lying against the cord

When asked why they couldn't just go in and get him out, The doctor believed that if they did there was a chance he'd swallow amniotic fluid and aspirate into his lungs, which although were developed, just not enough to avoid any major respiratory problems that he might have in the long run but Baby Boy A was still doing amazing and he was developing much better than they thought.

She thought it wasn't fair that they were choosing sides over which baby was developing and concentrate on both of them

During the visit with the doctor, it was established that once they got Baby Boy B out, he would immediately go into the NICU and could possibly end up there for a few days depending on what happens during the birth, Jennifer's immediate concern was that the boys would be separated and that could add more to his distress but the Doctor assured her that wasn't going to happen and that if so, they could put the boys together in the isolotte if only for bonding purposes.

Jonathan explained what had happened right after Aubrey's birth, and stated that he wanted someone watching over his children no matter what, if he had to hire a private nurse then so be it but damned if he wasn't going to make sure his children were safe and well protected

Jennifer's heart should have grown with Jonathan's words but instead she only heard pieces, she was still processing what the doctor told her, that because of her actions her children would spend the first week separated from each other and that in the long run, her baby boy would have severe problems.

She wished she could die, for a brief moment there she even thought that Jonathan should have let them bleed out on the bathroom just so she wouldn't put them through this.

Of course she would never say it out loud but it was written all over her face and Jonathan could read her better than she could read herself.

For the rest of her life, she would punish herself for the mistakes her children would make and her own mistakes.

The doctor saw the look of guilt on her face and asked her if she had any thoughts on the birth, if there was something she like to have, certain music or maybe something comforting in the delivery room but she couldn't think of anything and when the doctor left, closing the door, Jonathan held her as she sobbed

She wondered bitterly if she would ever run out of tears

On the Tuesday at the beginning of the third week of her stay at the hospital, she woke up to such painful contractions she thought for sure she was going to snap in half

"Jonathan," She gasped, he'd fallen asleep in his business suit the previous night and the nurses hypnotized by his charismatic ways had allowed him to stay over but only on the couch

"Jonathan!" he wasn't responding, he'd been so exhausted that he had just slept right through the hospital's night routine and she knew when he was in a deep enough sleep, the earth could move and he wouldn't budge,

She groped around for a tissue box and threw it at his head

"JONATHAN!"

"Hmm what flavor? I'll go" He shot up

"Go get the nurse!" She cried, pressing the call button and suddenly the fetal monitor started shrieking and the room was suddenly overcrowded with doctors and nurses

"What's going on?" Jennifer called out but everyone was talking at once, one nurse was shouting for the pediatric doctor, OBGYN doctor was demanding a tray of instruments and two nurses had run in and ran back out

Jonathan wasn't sure what was happening but then a nurse came in and grabbed him,

"Tell me what's happening?" He demanded when they got into the hallway

"Your wife's labor has started and because of her past history with premature labor and the baby sitting on the cord, we need to make sure that their heartbeats maintain a certain number so we need to prepare for a crash C-section," She spoke as she went to a linen closet and handed him scrubs

"Will they be alright," Jonathan said staring into the Nurse's eyes

"I believe so but we need to be prepared for anything, put these over your clothes and hurry back, Dad" She gave him a worried smile and hurried back into the room

There was no time for excited phone calls at the house to inform Aubrey that she was about to become a big sister, to take pictures of Mom going into the delivery room and to video the excited birth, he'd be like to get a few shots with his I-phone

He put on the scrubs and was just stepping out when Jennifer was whisked past him, he ran alongside the bed, and hearing her moan," Something's wrong,"

"I thought there would be more time," Jonathan asked the nurse who'd handed the scrubs at him earlier,

"We're moving her into delivery, it may still be awhile but we want to make sure that when it happens, we're all set," the gurney was stopped in front of a door, a button was pushed and they stopped in to the delivery room.

"Jennifer, we're going to give you something to take the edge off, alright?" a blonde nurse asked

"Please anything to make it stop," Jennifer whispered, Jonathan leaned in and he kissed her head,

"I love you so much," He whispered, "Everything will be alright, I promise"

It was a promise he'd made a thousand times but this time, he couldn't believe in the useless words himself, nothing will be alright until those babies were born.

Jonathan stepped back, as a nurse hooked up an IV and another strapped a blood pressure cuff around Jennifer's arm, between all the machinery and the IVs there would be no way to get in one final cuddle before they came,

Not that she wanted to or anything, she couldn't imagine ever having sex again because this was a result of it

"So have you picked any names yet?" a redheaded nurse asked

"Uh, Lucas Maxwell and I'm not too sure about the other baby's name yet," She couldn't bring herself to name him if he suddenly passed away, she remembered hearing a story of How Jackie Onassis's baby Patrick had the same respiratory problems and died soon after birth, she barely survived that and then on top of that, losing baby Arabella too, she couldn't imagine wanting to live knowing that.

Of course if that happened, she would die so her baby could never be alone.

"Hey, Everything's going to be great," Jonathan was never really good at acting but he could BS anyone but not her

"You don't know that, "She said as another contracted soared through her body

"Darling, I have to believe that, we both do," stepping aside for a nurse, who brought in a tray with what look like medieval torture devices

"Just promise me, when they finish getting them out, you will go with them and stay with them every second," Jennifer breathed deeply

"I promise," He'd have promise to dig up Capone's grave if she asked, anything for her..

"So uh, is your other daughter excited about the birth," the redhead asked interrupting

"She's two, her big concern is whether or not she can weasel cookies for breakfast out of her Poppa Max," Jonathan laughed "But I think she'll be a good big sister,"

"You're lucky, when I had my second baby, my daughter turned into Rosemary's baby," the nurse adjusted the monitor

"That's our biggest fear, we'll wake up and find her standing over the cribs eyes glowing," Jonathan smiled, "Hullo Father, Mother" he opened his eyes wide

The nurse laughed as she left the room.

"I wish you wouldn't speak of our daughter that way," Jennifer said

"I was only kidding besides we both know she's not capable of doing that," Jonathan pulled up a chair beside the bed," How are you doing, really?"

"I'm so scared," She took his hand, "What if the doctors don't get them out in time,"

"This is the best hospital in California, Darling I know I won't stop your fears but you've got to relax," Jonathan said kissing her hand

"I can't, I just feel like something is completely wrong, "A lone tear slid down her cheek

"I know, I'm scared for you too," Jonathan confessed, "I wish there was a way I could help you,"

She could only nod, she didn't think anything either of them could think of words to comfort each other.

A few more hours went by and it was a barrage of nurses, doctors and interns each coming into check her dilation, the heart monitors and her oxygen level, which would dip and go back up and eventually the nurse suggested she put on an oxygen mask so her levels would remain even.

Then the heavens opened and the epidural doctor came in, Jennifer was propped up against two nurses and Jonathan, given the shot and told to relax and for a good hour that's what happened but unfortunately she had a reaction to the medication and her lips turned blue and her teeth started chattering, no matter how many warming blankets they gave her up, it wasn't working, she became so pale she matched the walls and then the heart monitors began screaming

"What's happening?" Jonathan said as a nurse came running in

"She's having an allergic reaction to the medicine,we need you to get out now!" She shoved Jonathan out the door

After a few more minutes of pacing, a new nurse came out to get him

"What the hell is going on?" Jonathan demanded

"The babies aren't handling the contractions anymore so we're going to break her water, and push the picocdin," She brought Jonathan in, "She could begin pushing in as little as a half hour,"

"A half hour," Jonathan gave a nervous smile expecting one back but she staring intently at her belly

"So my darling, what do you think we should name the little guy?" Jonathan looking at her

"I don't know, you can pick his name," She was so uncomfortable and miserable, at this point she wanted to check out of her own body

"I've got it, we can call him London after where we first met," Jonathan said trying to make her laugh

He got a smile which was a step in the right direction," London Hart? Sounds like an auctioneer or something,"

"Hmm, Well I brought the baby name book, let's go through it," He held it up, he'd grabbed it on one of his trips home

They looked in the book and tossed out Tristan, Donald, Dean and Jared as well as a few names that just didn't work well with Hart.

She thought bitterly, that's why they give you nine months to prepare for the birth not the last moments

They were going through other J names when Doctor Kendall came in and checked her dilation, "10 centimeters, here we go kids,"

Jonathan suddenly gulped, the reality was here and they were coming, no turning back now

"Jonathan, get behind her and let her lean back against you..Which hand do you write with?" Doctor Kendall put on her rubber gloves

"Uh left, why?" Jonathan wondered where this line of questioning was going

"Give her your right hand to squeeze, because if you give her your left hand, you won't be able to sign your name for a year," Doctor Kendall sat down on her little chair while the nurses prepped Jennifer

Jonathan laughed nervously but stopped when he saw the serious look on the doctor's face, "It's happened many times, too many guys I've sent down from delivery to the ER with crushed fingers, ..Jennifer,countdown from 30 and push!"

Jennifer took a deep breath and began pushing

For nearly two hours she pushed and pushed but made no progress, after awhile she began to get exhausted and couldn't push any more, "Please I can't do this anymore, just make it stop" she cried

"I know you're tired but so close Darling," Jonathan was rapidly losing feeling in his hand and he'd probably have to get his wedding ring cut off later on

"Come on Jen, One Big one and the 1st baby will be out," Doctor said reaching for her scissors

"No I can't," She laid back in exhaustion

"Jonathan," The doctor signaled him and whispered, "if she doesn't concentrate, we're going to have big problems"

"Alright," He wasn't sure if it would work but it worth a shot,

"Hey, Soul Sister  
>Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains<br>I knew I wouldn't forget you, and so I went and let you blow my mind  
>Your sweet moon beam, the smell of you in every single dream I dream<br>I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided who's one of my kind  
>Hey soul sister, ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo, the way you move ain't fair, you know!<br>Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do...tonight  
>Hey, hey,hey<br>Just in time, I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me  
>You gave my life direction, a game show love connection we can't deny<br>I'm so obsessed, my heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest  
>I believe in you, like a virgin, you're Madonna, and I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind ,"<p>

It worked, it also stopped every nurse and doctor in their tracks, the big millionaire singing a Train Song, Even Jennifer looked at him in horror and amusement

"You said get her to concentrate, you didn't say how," Jonathan wasn't ashamed of his singing by any means but at this point he wanted to crawl under a rock and die

"Alright, Well If Rod Stewart is done with his performance, Let's get back to the task at hand," Doctor Kendall said

Then suddenly, she called over Jonathan and asked him if he wanted to see the top of his son's head, he looked at Jennifer for approval but she had leaned back into the pillow with her eyes slammed shut

"He'll be here in 1,2,3" and suddenly in front of Jonathan was this little red covered jelly mass with arms and legs, screaming his guts out

"He's here and He's definitely MY boy," Jonathan exclaimed just in awe

"Jonathan, that's the umbilical cord," Dr. Kendall laughed and handed the baby to the nurse, who brought him to the scale

5lbs, 12 ounces and 22inches long with jet black hair, Lucas Maxwell Stephen Hart was born

"He's so beautiful, I love you so much," Jonathan kissed his wife, who was smiling but still had her eyes closed, she wanted it to be over, she wanted to go be with her baby but she still wasn't done.

"Alright Jennifer it's just going to be a couple more minutes until the next baby is ready," Dr. Kendall taking off her gloves and getting a new ones.

Jonathan watched as they wrapped Baby Lucas in his blanket and put on his little hat, he was amazed at how rough the nurses were but he guessed that was how they worked, he snapped as many pictures as he could with his I-phone.

Lucas was definitely his son, he was stubborn and screaming, and when he was handed to his mother, he looked up at her curiously then screamed even harder

"My baby, poor little guy," Jennifer tried to memorize every detail of his little round face and took note that he had a stubborn cowlick like his mama, she nuzzled with him for a few minutes before the nurses took him back to await the arrival of his brother

"Alright Jennifer, we're just going to wait a few more minutes then you can push again," said just as the heart monitor started squawking

She stepped over to the monitor and suddenly the room was in chaos

"What's the matter?" Jennifer asked all she wanted to do was sleep

"The baby's heart rate is too low, we need to get this baby out now so we're going to get you into surgery and make sure your both alright," Dr. Kendall said then quietly spoke to the nurse

"Oh my god I don't believe this," Jennifer said moaning

"It'll be alright Darling," Jonathan kissed her head

"Stop saying that!, you don't know everything!" She growled," Get out!"

He stood there helplessly, but he didn't leave, he knew the exhaustion was speaking and not her

"Darling, I'm not leaving you" He said quietly

"I said get out damn it," she pushed him back but then a contraction hit and she grabbed his arm, "Oh Baby I'm sorry I didn't mean it, please forgive me," she sobbed

"I forgive you, just get your nails out of my arm," He said wrenching his arm free, her manicured nails left a puncture park

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Baby I'm sorry," She babbled

"I know your tired, it's alright but it'll over soon," He pushed back her sweaty hair and looked into her tired eyes

"Ooh," She said as another contraction ran through her body and the nurse came back in

"We're all set, let's hit the road!" She cheered

"I'm being ripped apart and she's fucking perky how does that work?," Jennifer muttered

"Alright, Dad, you coming?" The nurse asked detaching the monitors and unlocking the bed

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Jonathan rubbed his hands together

"Alright, Jennifer when we get into the operating room, there is going to be a curtain across your belly and Jonathan, you stay from away from the curtain because if you look over it, there's a chance you'll pass out," Dr. Kendall said coming back in

"Have no fear of that one," He couldn't imagine wanting to look anyway, watching the baby crown was one thing but the idea of his safe haven being ripped from stem to stern just unnerved him

"We'll prep you, make sure your good and numb then we'll bring Jonathan in," Dr. Kendall unlocked the bed and pushed it

"Any questions?"

"How long will it take you to get the baby out?" Jennifer asked looking up at the doctor

"If necessary, I can get the baby out in 60 seconds but don't worry, he'll be perfect," the bed was pushed through another set of double doors then Jennifer was asked to slide over to the operating table from her bed,

She was immediately hooked back up the IV and given something that made her lower Body completely numb and felt something wet across her stomach

"Jennifer, can you lift your legs?" Dr. Kendall asked

She tried but they were like cement

"Alright, Let Dad in," said moving quickly

Jonathan came in and sat by her head and kept whispering, "I love you,"

"So Jonathan tell me, you plan on cranking out any more tunes," Dr. Kendall laughed

"Only if my queen wants it," he blushed

"Maybe afterwards, you can give a private performance," Jennifer laughed," a little Piano Man or he does a wonderful Sinatra,"

"Well clearly, he's got those eyes like Ole Frank," laughed and reached for another instrument

Jennifer felt like there was a weight on her chest then suddenly felt a whoosh of air and Dr. Kendall stopped speaking, the room became silent, the only sound was a clock ticking over head

"What's happening?," Jennifer asked but no one answered her

Jonathan suddenly became nervous and couldn't help it he stood up and saw that the baby was half out and that the cord was wrapped around his little body, and he was blue

"Oh my god," Jonathan became scared

"Jonathan what's happened with the baby?" Jennifer asked

He didn't answer her,he couldn't because no one was telling him

They got the baby out and rushed him over to the small table where they began performing CPR and pumping air into his little lungs

"Please Please breathe," Jonathan said not realizing Jennifer could hear him

"He's not breathing?" Jennifer began to cry, "Oh my baby please please breathe for Mommy"

As if he had been waiting to hear her voice, the baby suddenly exhaled, took in a deep breath and wailed turning pink

Everyone in the room began to cheer

"Thank you God!" Jonathan said hugging a nurse and immediately went over to kiss his son but wasn't able to get near him, the nurses were busy making sure that all his other vitals were stable

He was 4lbs, 11oz and 21inches long

After a few minutes, the nurses brought him over to his Mama, who kissed his cheek and was then whisked to the NICU where he would be further examined by the pediatric doctors.

Jennifer was sewn up and brought back to her room, to wait to hear about how her boys were doing and the anticipation nearly killed her.

Jonathan had gone down with the baby to the nursery and he took some pictures and a video of Lucas who was curled up like a baby burrito sucking his thumb, the nurses told him it might be awhile before they could bring Lucas down to the room to visit with Jennifer.

The other baby would be evaluated and the doctors would have to determine the next cause of action


	15. After Birth

_A/N I know chickees, still waiting on 13 but i promise the moment it's perfect it'll be posted _

Back in their private room the wait for news seemed endless. Jennifer looked at the photographs and video of Lucas and the one blurry image of their other baby boy as he'd been carried away from them to Intensive Care.

To try and pass the time Jonathan got out the baby name book again and handed it to Jennifer. "You choose his name Darling." He told her sitting on the edge of her bed.

Jennifer was exhausted and not really feeling up to concentrating but she flicked through the first few pages of the book hoping for inspiration. And suddenly there it was. Meaning brave, which she knew he was going to have to be.

"Andrew."

"Andrew?"

"It means brave or courageous."

"Just what we need him to be. Andrew it is then."

"Andrew Charles Edwards Hart." Jennifer said, adding the middle names they'd chosen.

"That's a big name for such a little boy... But he'll soon grow in to it."

"Oh Jonathan, I hope so."

The door opened and a nurse came in. They both looked at her expectantly but she was just there to check Jennifer's temperature and blood pressure. Once that was done they resumed their waiting game. Jonathan thought about calling home but didn't really want to until they had news of the boys.

Having to stay in bed when she needed her babies was so hard and Jennifer finally gave in to the tears that had been threatening. Tired of being brave, when he was just as scared for their sons as she was, Jonathan joined her.

A while later they were both lying in Jennifer's bed when the doctor came in and Jonathan immediately got up, reaching for Jennifer's hand as he did so's not to break contact with her.

"Your firstborn son is doing extremely well, all his tests show he's great for 35 weeks, the steroids they were given have done a great job at helping their lungs develop and he's a good weight too. We gave him some oxygen but his sat levels are fine so we'll just observe him overnight and then he can be in here with you."

"That's great, thank you." Jonathan smiled and squeezed Jennifer's hand.

"Baby number two as you know had some problems and needed help to breathe. His test results were a little less encouraging than his brother's but he'll be under observation and will receive whatever treatment we feel he needs. Sometimes when infants are premature and after a traumatic birth like his they suffer from the effects of lack of oxygen. At the moment we are observing him for signs of respiratory distress syndrome, so we have him on the CPAP and we'll monitor him closely."

"Whatever specialists he needs... get the best." Jonathan said

"We will, for now we just have to wait and see what the next 24 hours bring."

"I need to go to them."

"I understand Mrs Hart, but you had surgery, we need to observe you too."

Jennifer did understand that, but she couldn't stand not being with the boys, she'd wanted to do with them what she'd done with Aubrey after she was born. She wanted to hold them close, look down in to their faces and fall in love with them. She wanted to count their fingers and toes, touch their soft cheeks, see who they looked like. Her tears flowed again.

"We'll have your vital signs checked again in half an hour and then if everything looks ok we'll get you a wheelchair and take you up to the NICU."

"Ok." Jennifer said reluctantly. It had already been a long and exhausting day and she was anxious about the boys and concerned about how Aubrey was doing without seeing her Mama and Daddy. "Jonathan why don't you go and call home, make sure Aubrey is ok and let them know about the boys."

"Are you sure, I don't want to leave you on your own."

"I'm sure, you go."

"I'll just be a few minutes. I'll tell them they can bring Aubrey in to visit in the morning."

Jonathan went off to make the call home and Jennifer lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes for a few minutes. The numbness was wearing off more quickly now and she wasn't feeling as nauseous. She wasn't in pain as they'd given her an injection, she just had a dull ache in her abdomen.

Max and Pearl were shocked that the birth was over and that one of the babies wasn't doing so well, but they promised to take care of Aubrey and to bring her to the hospital in the morning. Jonathan spoke to her and told her Mama and Daddy loved her and that her new brothers were here and their names were Lucas and Andrew. He knew she was too little to really understand but he heard her repeat "new brothers" to Pearl in the background. Max had asked their names and was honoured that Lucas had his name as a middle name and said that Jennifer's Dad would be delighted and was Jonathan calling him next. Jonathan said he would wait until morning as it was getting later on the East coast and he'd rather have a clearer idea of how Andrew was before calling.

After Jennifer had her blood pressure, oxygen sats and temperature checked and the doctor decided she was ok to go up to the NICU they brought her a wheelchair and helped her in to it. The doctor explained what happened in the Unit and told them not to be too alarmed by all the machinery. Jennifer was full of conflicting emotions and she knew Jonathan was too. They were feeling joy at their boys finally being here, happiness at being a family of five but fear that Andrew might have a battle to get well before he would be able come home with them.

The boys were in separate incubators alongside each other a few feet apart and Lucas looked pink and healthy, he was just being kept warm and under observation. Andrew had the CPAP machine which was covering most of his face and they both cried when they saw him, but one of the nurses spoke to them to reassure them.

"Lucas is doing fine, his sucking reflex is good and he's already had a feed which he kept down. Andrew will be fed by tube while he is on the CPAP but he might only need the machinery for a short while."

"I hope so." Jonathan said, not sure what else he could say

Jennifer just found the whole situation completely overwhelming, she didn't know which of her boys to be concentrating on and it really upset her that they had been separated, she didn't think that was right, she felt they needed each other.

"Why can't they be together?" She asked, her voice sounding stronger than she felt.

"They can when Andrew is a little stronger, we don't want either of them to catch an infection." The nurse explained.

"But they need each other."

"Darling they'll be fine." Jonathan tried to reason with her, seeing how upset she was getting.

"You don't know that, they aren't used to being apart, this isn't right."

At that point a doctor came over and asked what the problem was.

"My wife is very upset that our sons are separated, she wanted them to be together."

"That isn't our policy here, we need to be careful of infection especially for Andrew."

"They've spent the last 8 months together, they don't know it any other way and at a time when they need each other you have them apart. It's not right." Jennifer was getting more agitated and Jonathan could see both sides so he was caught in the middle but he wanted to calm Jennifer down.

"Mrs Hart, I understand that you are upset, it's been a traumatic day and you're worried about your sons. But we've looked after hundreds of babies and I promise you we know what we're doing. Once Andrew can breathe on his own we'll put them in together."

"Can we hold them yet?" Jonathan asked

"You can hold Lucas, but it's probably better to leave Andrew until he's more stable."

"I want to hold them both together for the first time." Jonathan was becoming more anxious about Jennifer's behaviour and the doctor shook his head.

"Not tonight Mrs Hart, I'm sorry."

"Jennifer, we need to understand that Andrew isn't strong enough yet, but Lucas needs us too so we should give him a cuddle now, let him know we're here with him."

"You hold him again Jonathan, they both always responded to your voice so he'll know who you are."

Jonathan was bewildered, she was acting very strangely, she was really wound up about the boys being apart. He couldn't understand it, they were too little to know what was going on and they would never remember this when they were older. But as he looked at her and they made eye contact he saw she was deadly serious about him holding Lucas before her. He hoped that once he was sitting with their son she would realise how much he needed his Mama so he put on the sterile gown and scrubbed his hands before taking a seat next to the incubator. The nurse wrapped the fleecy blanket that he was lying on around Lucas and lifted him out, settling him in Jonathan's arms.

Looking down in to his son's face Jonathan smiled and touched his cheek. He had dark hair and as he turned his face and opened his eyes he saw they were dark blue and he wondered if they would change colour.

Jennifer watched them a moment thinking how proud Jonathan looked, then she turned her attention to Andrew. His little face was mostly covered by the mask but she could see he also had dark hair which as the boys were identical she would have expected. This was going to be much much harder than she'd thought, she was being torn in half already and they were only a few hours old. Lucas looked so well and Andrew was poorly and they wouldn't let them be together.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be, they weren't supposed to be here yet. They should still have been safe and secure and growing bigger and stronger each day still waiting to be born.

And they would have been if she hadn't been so foolish and so selfish.

"Is it alright if I just touch him briefly," She asked hopefully

"Just for a moment," a Nurse lowered the side of the incubator and Jennifer stuck her fingers inside and hooked them with Andrew's tiny fingers

"I'm so sorry," She whispered and as if to reassure her, he flexed his fingers

"I'm sorry but we'll have to close this up now," the nurse said after a few moments

Jennifer pulled out her hand and began to cry

"Here, Darling, why don't you hold Lucas while I take a picture?" Jonathan asked

"No ..I can't I'm ready to go back to my room," Jennifer said wanting so bad to hold her baby but knowing that Andrew would feel bad that his older brother got more attention.

"Darling, Please ..Take Him," Jonathan pleaded with her and finally just placed the baby in her arms

"My beautiful boy, I've been waiting for you and Andrew for so long," She whispered into his tiny ears, "Please don't hate me,"

Jonathan heard her but didn't question why she had said it, he knew she was beating herself and nothing he could say would change that but he didn't want their son's first moments spend on wondering why his mama would think he would hate her..

After a few more tears and whispering in his ear that she loved him and promised to come back as soon as she could, that time distance or pain could keep her from him and then she stood up over Andrew's incubator with Jonathan behind her making sure she didn't pass out

"I can't leave him, He needs me," She cried

"Darling, you're of no help to him if you get yourself sick," Jonathan put his hand on her back

"He is my child and he's in pain," She leaned over the incubator and watched his little chest rise and fall

"Darling, I promise he's not in pain," he tried to reassure her but it wasn't working.

Jennifer started to feel light headed but she refused to sit down. She'd stand there forever until he came out of the incubator

"Jennifer, I'm taking you back to your room," Jonathan had to physically push her into the wheelchair

She didn't care, nothing mattered as long her children were kept from her.

After Jonathan got her back into the bed, she insisted he go home, he didn't want to, knowing that the last time he'd gone home to sleep, his daughter was snatched from the hospital but he knew that she desperately needed sleep and so with reluctance, he kissed her forehead, told her he loved her and left, stopping back at the nursery to say a prayer to watch over his boys and went home.

The nurses gave Jennifer a mild sedative which put her asleep for a good three hours and it was necessary but that didn't stop her mind from racing, her adrenaline couldn't keep her still.

She twisted and turned and finally just got up, needing to see them to know they were still right down the hall.

Jennifer crept down the hallway to where the other babies were,taking notice that her boys were set back from the rest, probably Jonathan's doing to protect them and knocked on the glass

"Hi my name is Jennifer Hart and I was wondering if I could take a look at my babies,?" She asked a nurse holding up her hospital bracelet feeling stupid, they were her children.

"Of course but just for a few moments, the little guys need their sleep," the older woman was understanding, actually Jennifer was surprised the woman didn't just take one look at her, declare her insane and send her packing.

Jennifer followed the woman's movements, washing her hands and putting a gown over her gown and was lead to Lucas's incubator first. The Nurse smiled and left her alone, knowing that this was necessary for Jennifer's sanity. Word must have gotten around about the crazy woman who just gave birth to twins.

He was asleep with his fists clenched and his little head tipped to the side, something about her children and loving that position, she supposed it had something to do with the way they were positioned in the womb, She kissed her fingertips and brought them to his own lips.

"I love you, little guy,"

She then moved over to Andrew's incubator, his little eyes were fluttering as if he sensed her presence

"Hi Baby," She whispered," I know we didn't have the best introduction but I'm Mama and I've been waiting for you," she tried not cry but it wasn't working at this point, she'd be lucky if her face didn't wind up completely chapped, "We need to have a little talk, okay Andy?"

Although he was heavily medicated and had a mask over his tiny face, he still narrowed his eye brows like he knew what she was talking about.

"Let's make a deal, you get better and I will buy you a Ferrari on your sixteenth birthday and totally look away when you bring girlfriends home. I need you to get better because there is a life waiting for us on Willow Pond with your big sister, Poppa Max and Aunty Pearl," She was crying hard now, "My beautiful boy, I promise to spend every moment of my life fixing the damage I caused but I need you to get better," She suddenly became exhausted and knew she had to get to sleep, "I love you, Chipmunk"

Before she left the nursery, she walked over to Lucas's incubator and smiled, "Hey kiddo, I need you to take care of Andy while I'm gone okay? Mama loves you both so much,"

She went to her room, still filled emotions going everywhere but knowing at least for the moment, her kids were alright.

When Jonathan came home that night from the hospital, Max was watching a ball game on the TV and Pearl was coloring with Aubrey on the coffee table, a present for her Mama and baby brothers.

"Daddy!" Aubrey yelped when she saw Jonathan walk through the door, he was exhausted but knew that he needed to spend some time with her,

"Hey Baby Girl," He picked her up and kissed her neck, she wiggled to get back down after a few minutes, she wanted to make sure her picture was done before they got to go to the hospital tomorrow.

Max muted the TV and went to the Kitchen, got a snack and something for Jonathan to drink before settling back down in the chair

"How are they?" Pearl asked gently

And the dam broke.

He cried that he wasn't sure if Andrew would make it through this, That Jennifer wasn't even sure if she could make it through this, that everything he had anticipated had gone to hell and that his family was shattered.

Pearl pulled him into her lap, like she had done with Jennifer and let him, It had built up for nearly eight months through everything that happened with Aubrey, Manning and now the babies. He tearfully told them about the birth and how they had to do the crash c-section, about seeing his son blue and lifeless. How when he looked down and realized the baby wasn't moving, he felt anger toward everyone in that room including his own wife, who should have realized the risks she had taken had caused this and when the baby did breathe, he regretted every thought that had passed through his brain.

He was crying so hard, he was gasping for air himself.

Aubrey had been watching this whole thing happen, wondering why her Daddy was crying when she knew he should have been so happy and where her Mama was to make him feel better, she didn't understand when Poppy Max pulled her into his lap and held onto her tightly.

After a few minutes, Jonathan started to pull himself together when he remembered the pictures and video on his phone, he pulled it out and started to cry pointing out how beautiful his sons were and identical they were, from their hair right down the same shape of their toes.

And how when they came home, they would be dressed differently because if they were dressed alike it would be impossible to tell apart.

He finally calmed down and accepted the food Max had given him earlier, he needed to get out of his scrubs, take a long shower and crawl into bed, although he knew he wouldn't sleep without Jennifer there beside him.

But first he had to explain to Aubrey what was going to happen when her little brothers came home and how Mama might be distracted, but he looked her little face and figured he could rock her tiny world later on, for now it was time to go to sleep.

He said Goodnight to Pearl and Max, who were worried about him and took his daughter upstairs where he gave her a bath and then put her in Jennifer's spot, he couldn't handle sleeping alone.

"


	16. Tears and Frustration

Aubrey wasn't your average two year old, she had lived in a cultural much different than anyone else could understand, she'd played among the animals and children who spoke an entirely different language and had traditions that some considered unorthodox. She had been taught to speak early and clearly, so she could decipher for herself exactly what she wanted but she had never seen emotions quite like this before. The man, who had called himself Elliot and never Daddy always seemed to keep his emotions unknown and since she spent more time with the red-head woman named Mommy, who never cried or really had much of a personality.

But here, with her Mama and Daddy, she had seen things that surprised her, she saw them cry and scream, she had even seen her Mama throw things across the room, she didn't know what but whatever it was, made her Daddy upset and then suddenly her Mama disappeared, and Daddy cried a lot. She wanted more than anything to make his tears like he did with her but she didn't know how..

The day after he came home and told them all about her baby brothers, she guessed they were just visitors coming for awhile, her Daddy sat down with Auntie Pearlie, and cried but at two years old, she didn't have the slightest clue why but when he brought her upstairs and into the bed to sleep, she knew he must have really been in pain .

Daddy tossed and turned all night, and when she did go to sleep, he pulled her close and kissed her head all night.

But during the night Daddy was still sleeping when she got up, she hadn't gone to the potty when they had gone to bed so she really had to go but didn't know how to get up on the toilet.

She decided her Poppa Max could help her, he was so cool plus he made the best cookies in the world, she'd eat them all the time if Mama let her. But when she got to the top of the stairs, she realized she couldn't get down, the gate was blocking her way.

Aubrey gave the gate a frustrated kick but it still wouldn't budge.

She stood back, put her hands on her tiny hips and thought for a minute, she could call for Poppa but that might wake Daddy and Auntie Pearl was all the way across the garden.

Suddenly she remembered watching the Monkeys in Kenya climb from limb to limb; she could go across the bars of the banister like them, swing over to the steps and walk the rest of the way.

Duck Soup

She maneuvered her little body in and out of the bars, holding on tightly, left hand, right hand over, under, across and was nearly there when she heard someone gasp from beneath her

"What are you doing?" Auntie Pearl yelled, she must have come in to get some juice

A little older, she might have had a snappy comeback but at two, her response was to shrug and that caused her to lose her grip on the bars, and now she was holding on by one hand

"JONATHAN!" Pearl screamed, there was no way to get to her with the gates in the way and he'd have a better shot standing at the top of the stairs

"What?" Jonathan came running out of the bedroom to see Pearl Pointing at something; he leaned over the banister and saw his daughter swinging

"Baby, what are you doing?" Jonathan asked her

"Ask questions later, Charlie, grab her before her arm breaks," Pearl rolled her eyes

Jonathan reached over, picked her up by the nightgown and brought her to his side of the banister

"Why did you do that?" He said asked, knowing the answer

"Had to potty," She said studying his face, he should have been furious but he couldn't, he would have done the same thing at her age

Jonathan woke early the next morning with Aubrey lying across his chest and he had to slide out of the bed slowly so's not to disturb her. He looked down at her and smiled, she looked so peaceful and angelic, not words that could always be used to describe her, but that was part of her fiery redhead image and he loved that she was feisty, she'd look out for her brothers until they were big enough to take care of her. Jonathan knew the boys would always be close but he was determined to do whatever he could to make sure all three of them adored each other the way he and Jennifer would adore them all.

Going in to the boys' nursery Jonathan sat on one of the rockers and called the hospital, explaining he was a parent and asking to be connected with the NICU. The call was answered after a few rings and Jonathan explained who he was and asked for an update on their boys. The nurse who answered put him on hold while she got their charts and when she came back she explained that Lucas had a settled night and had fed well, he was showing no signs of distress and he would more than likely be transferred out of the NICU later in the day. Andrew was still on the CPAP and he'd been given IV antibiotics as his temperature had gone up and they'd thought he had an infection starting in his chest. His temperature had regulated and his chest was sounding clearer when he'd been checked 30 minutes before so the treatment seemed to have been working. He was still unwell but was stable for now.

Jonathan felt a bit deflated, he was delighted that Lucas was doing so well but he was worried about Andrew and about Jennifer. It was great news that Lucas was going to be out of the NICU but he knew Jennifer wouldn't see it the same way, she'd be happy he was well, but upset the boys weren't together. If Andrew had an infection of any kind it was likely the doctor would want to keep them separated for now.

Deciding it was time he went for a shower and got organised Jonathan headed back to the master bedroom. As he opened the door Aubrey sat up and smiled at him and he walked across to the bed and scooped her up in to his arms to give her a kiss. As she put her arms around his neck he smiled, amazed at how comfortable and settled she was now, it was like she'd forgotten everything about her past life with Elliot and for that he was grateful.

"Baby brothers Daddy!" She said and he nodded

"Yes sweetie, we're going to see your baby brothers and your Mama. You and Daddy need to go and buy presents for Lucas and Andrew first.

"And Mama!"

"Yes we'll buy a present for Mama too."

"Pink flowers Daddy!" Jonathan was surprised that she'd remembered about the roses they'd bought Jennifer the day they left Kenya, then thought about it and realised it was only a matter of weeks ago, although so much had happened since then that Kenya felt like years ago now.

"Ok sweetie, we'll get Mama pink flowers. First we need to get ready and have breakfast."

"Pancakes Max!" She sang out and Jonathan laughed softly, she was always hungry.

"I'm sure Pops will make you pancakes but first Daddy needs to have a shower so you can come in with me." Aubrey nodded and by the look on her face Jonathan knew she was thinking about her pancakes!

Once they were showered and dressed Jonathan carried Aubrey downstairs and when they got in to the kitchen Max and Pearl were already there. Putting Aubrey down Jonathan smiled as she ran to Pearl's waiting arms and over her shoulder shouted

"Pancakes Max" then quickly added "Please." Before her Daddy had to remind her.

Pearl combed Aubrey's hair and put it in a little braid then helped her with her shoes and kissed her goodbye, telling Jonathan she and Max would meet them at the hospital a bit later.

The first stop was the florist so Aubrey could get her Mama pink roses and then the toy shop so she could pick something for each of her brothers. Jonathan wasn't sure what she'd choose and decided to play safe and go to the stuffed animal aisle with her. They were very quickly on their way with three identical Simba's that the woman in the store had given little collars of different colour ribbon to distinguish each of them from the others. Aubrey's had a pink ribbon and the other two had blue, one pale and one a deeper shade.

When they arrived at the hospital Jonathan parked and helped Aubrey out of her car seat then he carried the bag with the boys Simba's and the roses in one hand and took her hand with his other one as she held tightly to her Lion. Outside Jennifer's private room Jonathan stopped and gave the flowers to Aubrey and offered to carry her Simba but she shook her head and managed to hold on to both with difficulty – and determination.

Opening the door Jonathan could see that Jennifer was sitting up in bed and she immediately turned towards them, smiling at Aubrey struggling with the flowers. Jonathan carefully lifted their daughter up on to the bed, telling her to be careful as Mama had a sore tummy. Jennifer took the flowers and quickly placed them on the cabinet by her bed then took Aubrey in her arms and hugged her as tight as she could.

"Oh I missed you precious girl." She told her, kissing her face. Aubrey laughed and it made Jennifer feel a bit better. She'd been sitting longing for her whole family to be together and now that Jonathan and Aubrey were here they could go to the NICU. Jonathan had already checked and over 2's were allowed in for a few minutes as long as they were healthy which she was.

"Got two brothers Mama!" She told Jennifer

"That's right sweetheart, you have. They're called Lucas and Andrew."

"Where are they?" Aubrey asked

"They're in a special room where they are being taken care of because they are very little, but Mama and Daddy are going to take you to see them." Jonathan told her and watched as she processed the information. She was too little to understand so they'd take her along for a few minutes then get Max and Pearl to come and visit and they could take her home with them.

"Got Simba's for my brothers." Aubrey said excitedly and Jennifer smiled at her again trying to forget the connection to Africa and think instead of Disney movies.

After the nurse had been to check on Jennifer they were allowed to go along to the NICU and Aubrey had to have her hands washed with antiseptic gel and she got a little disposable gown to wear as well. The unit was very quiet, there were other babies there but only a couple of them had visitors and another couple were being fed by nurses.

The normally exuberant Aubrey was quite subdued and Jonathan wondered if she instinctively understood she needed to behave or if she was just scared of the strange environment. Jennifer watched her and wondered the same thing.

There was a nurse with Andrew and Jennifer felt a knot of fear in her stomach but as she got closer she saw the woman had just been changing his diaper. She was resentful that someone else was doing her job and she realised her face must have clouded when she saw Aubrey staring at her.

"Can our daughter touch her brothers?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, its fine with Lucas, but Andrew is still unwell so it's better if she just touches his hand."

Lucas was in an isolette now instead of an incubator and was wearing a sleepsuit and a little cotton hat. He was sleeping as Jonathan lifted Aubrey up to see him and held her close enough that she could place a gentle kiss on his cheek. It didn't disturb him and he carried on sleeping.

"This is your brother Lucas." Jonathan told her and she smiled but made no attempt to repeat his name. She lifted her head and watched her Mama who was looking in to Andrew's incubator.

Jonathan reached and gently touched Lucas on the cheek and smiled at him before taking Aubrey round to see Andrew. He paused a moment wondering if she would be scared of the CPAP tube covering half of his little face but as he stood next to Jennifer Aubrey reached out and touched her Mama's cheek so she turned towards her

"'Drew Mama." She said looking from Jennifer to the baby. Jennifer's eyes filled with tears at the sight of her daughter's little face and her endearing pronunciation of her brother's name."

"That's right baby, it's Andrew."

"Kiss 'Drew..."

"Not yet sweetie, he isn't feeling well just now so we just touch his hand." Aubrey didn't understand and she frowned a moment. Then she broke in to a smile and blew him a kiss instead.

"Jennifer you should sit down for a bit." Jonathan told her as he pulled a chair round for her then he stepped to the side of the incubator and opened the door so that he could reach in and touch his son. Aubrey watched him and when he let her do the same she gently stroked his hand and arm for a moment looking to Jonathan for reassurance. He nodded and smiled and she put her hand gently on her brother's as his eyes flickered open.

"Hello 'Drew." She said. Jennifer watched the gentle interaction with tears running down her cheeks and Jonathan swallowed the lump in his throat.

"He says Hi Aubrey," Jennifer croaked out

"Mama, why are you crying?" Aubrey turned to face her Mama

"Because, Love Bug, Drew is sick and Mama is scared," She didn't want to get too heavy on the kid but how do you explain to a two year old her baby brother might die.

"Mama, Let's sing to Drew," Aubrey knew her Mama loved music and was constantly singing one song to her over and over again

"Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you Let me call you sweetheart  
>I'm in love with you Let me call you sweetheart<br>I'm in love with you Let me hear you whisper That you love me too Keep that love light glowing  
>In your eyes so blue Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you Let me call you sweetheart<br>I'm in love with you Let me hear you whisper  
>That you love me too Keep that love light glowing In your eyes so blue Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you"<p>

By the time they got to the last lyric, Jennifer was sobbing and Jonathan was crying too, it had been their song and now it had so much more meaning.

"Mama please don't cry," Aubrey pleaded, what could she do to make her Mama smile?

"?" a Nurse came in, "There's a Pearl Bailey and Max Brenneman here to see you,"

"Um yes, they are the grandparents," Jonathan choked out

Max and Pearl come in, after scrubbing and putting on gowns and saw their wet faces

"Oh my god, we're too late?" Pearl said clutching Max's arm, she thought there would be more time

"No he's stable for the most part," Jennifer said sobbing into Aubrey's shirt

"Then why are you cryin?" Max asked

Pearl just nodded her head, she understood, When Cass was sick, she spent every moment sobbing wishing for something, anything to change

After a little more crying, Jennifer composed herself enough to check on Lucas, who was blissfully unaware of what was going on and kicking his legs, he had woken up during their song and even turned his head to the sound of their voices

"Bugaboo!"Jennifer said picking up Lucas after getting the nod from the nurses, she walked over to the rocking chair and sat down," I love you so much," he just stared up at her

"Jenny, can I?" Pearl asked after a few minutes holding out her arms

"Of course," She said reluctantly handed over the baby

"Excuse Me, Mr. And Mrs. Hart?" a nurse came back in, "there's someone here to speak with you,"

Jennifer didn't want to leave the nursery especially since Aubrey was with them but something told her that she should find out who it was.

Jonathan took her hand and they walked into the Hallway where a short little woman with glasses and a clipboard stood

"Hello, I'm with The Hospital's Social Workers Department, my name is Harper Marx and I was wondering if we could speak for a moment," She said pointing them to the chairs

"Well our children are very sick and our daughter is waiting for us," Jonathan was trying to be polite but it wasn't working

"I just need to ask a few questions, about your home environment and living habits," She looked down at the clipboard

"Our home environment?" Jennifer repeated, "We live on a secluded street with nearly 5,000 square feet of land, enough land to run around and enough toys to put Disneyland to shame that hardly counts a trailer in the middle of downtown Los Angeles ,"

"Well the reason I ask is, giving the condition of your children, if they were exposed to anything that could have put them in danger," She asked peering over her glasses

"No, of course not!" Jonathan was appalled this woman would think that, "we would never knowingly put our children in danger"

"They were exposed," She whispered

"Excuse me?" Both and Jonathan said

"I exposed them, I wasn't careful with my pregnancy and I continually put them in danger, it's my fault and I accept full responsibility," She hung her head down and cried

Jonathan had had enough. He didn't speak just grabbed her arm and pulled her around the corner, speaking slow and furiously

"What you think you are doing?"

"I'm being a mother, I caused this and I need to fix it," She cried into her hands

"Do you know that if they think we're unfit parents, they'll take away all three kids? Are you really that selfish?" Jonathan had never been so furious with before

"Selfish?" She looked into his eyes and saw how cold they had become, "You don't understand what it's like to be pregnant, to feel their kicks and movements, to know each moment and then suddenly have it ripped away. You can't possibly understand what it's like .."

"No but I do know what it's like to lose the important thing in your life, over and over again," He said leaning against the wall

"What do you mean?" She asked

"I've lost my daughter, my wife and now my sons, I can't take it and you need to stop pushing me away. "He was furiously pushing back tears but enough was enough.

"Pushing you away? You talk about me being selfish, you act like being the millionaire will solve everything and it won't solve anything, you can't fix everything!" She yelled

"How can I fix anything if you won't let me!"He yelled back

"Asshole!"

"Selfish Bitch!"

It was the release they needed, better they take it out on each other than someone else, it didn't do much but it was enough.

After a few minutes of cold silence, Jennifer asked quietly, "What are we going to do?"

"I honestly don't know, I know we have to get back to the place we were before, to loving each other unconditionally," He kissed her forehead

"I just feel so overwhelmed and helpless, their so tiny and what if Andy doesn't make it?," She cried into his chest

"Darling, we can't predict the future, we can only move moment by moment and until someone tells us otherwise, we have to believe that he'll be alright, "He suddenly felt like he could go to sleep for a thousand years and he knew she felt the same way.

"I just had this image in my head, of them being born and us taking our first crappy family picture together, Me looking happy but like death and you grinning like the Dope Daddy you are," She said leaning into him

"We can still have that, it's just going to take some time," He reassured her, even though he didn't believe it himself, he didn't believe much of anything.

It was the sound of beeping that made them stop talking and they realized it was coming from the nursery

"Oh my god, Andrew!" They said and ran into the nursery to find Pearl, Max and Aubrey standing by the door, looking sad.


	17. Mother's Intuition

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked looking at Max as Jennifer pushed past them and over to Andrew's incubator where a doctor and a nurse were gathered.

"Not sure Mr H, the alarm just started bleeping."

"We'll take Aubrey for a juice. I don't think she needs to see this." Pearl said lifting the bewildered little girl and taking Max by the arm as Jonathan joined Jennifer watching their son.

They couldn't really see what was happening but he was crying and Jennifer felt Jonathan's arm go around her as her knees started to give way, it was tearing her heart out listening to him in distress and she wasn't the only one, Lucas started to cry as well, obviously sensing his twin's pain.

A nurse appeared at the side of his isolette and lifted Lucas out to comfort him, seeing that his parents were too distraught to be able to do it. She walked up and down with him trying to calm him, but all the while they were working on Andrew, Lucas cried too.

Jennifer thought she was going to lose it completely as both her boys cried and she was unable to help either of them. She felt a complete failure as a Mother and didn't think she deserved the care that Jonathan was giving her as he held her tightly against him. She didn't realise that he needed the contact just as much as she did as he was terrified for Andrew too. He hated to hear his little boy's pitiful cries... but at least if he was crying he was still a few minutes the doctor turned to them

"He's stabilised again for now. There was an air leak in the nasal tube and we replaced it with a slightly smaller one so he should be getting the correct pressure now."

"So he's ok?"

"Yes, he was just distressed while we were changing the tube, it's not very pleasant, even for a newborn."

Jonathan held Jennifer closer to him and kissed her head as they both cried tears of relief and on the other side of the room Lucas had started to calm down too. The nurse brought him back over and stood holding him for a moment until he was completely calm, then she gently laid him back in his isolette.

"Mrs Hart you look exhausted, you really need to go and get some rest. You won't do either of your boys any good if you become ill." The young doctor told her sympathetically.

"I don't want to leave them just now, I'll wait until they're both settled again and then I'll go back to bed."

"Ok, but please do, remember that you had surgery and your body needs rest to recover."

When the doctor left to go and check on another baby Jonathan made Jennifer sit on the chair between their two boys and she looked up at him.

"Lucas got very upset when Andrew was distressed. He knew why he was crying."

"He did seem to understand because he calmed down again when Andrew did."

"Jonathan I know what the doctors said but I really think our boys need each other. Is there someone we can speak to, an expert who can convince the doctors here to put Lucas in beside Andrew?" She was even more convinced it would help now after witnessing how Lucas had reacted.

"I don't know Darling... I'll find out though." He told her as he caressed her cheek with his fingers.

"Thank you."

They stayed for another ten minutes until both boys were sleeping and then Jonathan helped Jennifer back to her room. When they got there Max and Pearl were sitting on the chairs and Aubrey was curled up on the bed clinging tightly to her Simba, her little face streaked with tears, tears that she hadn't understood but had accepted because it was what she'd seen happen with all the important grown-ups in her life. She didn't move, she just looked up at her parents in silence.

Max stood up but Pearl stayed seated, even decades later the thought of a sick child was hard for her to deal with.

"He's stable again." Jonathan told them "His breathing tube was leaking so they replaced it and he's sleeping now."

"Oh thank God!" Max said relieved. Pearl and Aubrey remained where they were and Jennifer crossed to the bed and sat down beside her little girl. Reaching out she smoothed her hand over the red hair that she knew was going to be so much like her own and they all sat for a while in silence until Jonathan decided that Jennifer needed to get in to the bed and rest.

"We'll take Aubrey home." Pearl finally spoke but Jonathan looked at Jennifer who shook her head.

"It's ok Pearl, leave her here with us for a while. I'll bring her home in time for her dinner. We need to spend some time together." Jonathan said and the older woman nodded her understanding.

"See you later Aubrey!" Max smiled and blew her a kiss

She blew him a kiss back and sat quietly still holding on to her soft toy.

When they were gone Jonathan lifted Aubrey up and gave her a hug then held her in his arms like a baby while Jennifer lifted back the covers and got in to the bed. He felt Aubrey relax and he rocked her gently to soothe her then he kissed her and put her down on the bed next to Jennifer.

"You lie there with Mama, Daddy needs to go and talk to someone." He made eye contact with Jennifer who gave him a small smile then placed her arm protectively across their daughter as she snuggled against her, still holding Simba, but not so tightly.

Jonathan didn't mess about, he went straight to the top, the Chief of Staff. He remembered what Jennifer had said when she was upset, that being the millionaire wouldn't solve anything, but she might be wrong. He'd met Bill O'Brien at 3 or 4 meetings when Hart Industries were helping to fund the new Oncology Unit at the hospital and he'd seemed like a decent man. He'd been very grateful for the large donation so maybe it was time to see if he'd help them now. He offered up a silent prayer that Bill would be in his office as he was a very busy man and another of thanks a few minutes later when his secretary confirmed that he was but she'd have to go and see whether he was available. She had known who he was when he said his name, she'd seen it on correspondence.

"Mr Hart, Mr O'Brien said if you can wait a few minutes he'll be able to see you, he's just finishing a call."

"Thank you." Jonathan smiled feeling a sense of relief that at least he was getting to see him.

About five minutes passed and then the office door opened and Bill came out and walked towards him.

"Mr Hart." He put out his hand and Jonathan shook it.

"It's Jonathan..."

"Please come in to my office."

"Thank you." Jonathan said following him through the door which Bill closed behind them.

"What can I do for you Jonathan?" He asked as they sat opposite each other.

"I need your help."

"Ok. What can I do?"

The emotion of the past couple of days caught up with him and he had to take a deep breath before he continued.

"My wife and I have twin boys, they were born here yesterday and were 5 weeks early. Our son Lucas is doing well, he was born normally, is a good weight and is healthy and breathing on his own." The other man listened but didn't say anything. "Our son Andrew had to be delivered by emergency c-section as his heart rate dropped and he was distressed. He was blue when he was born and had to be resuscitated. He's on the CPAP and is getting IV antibiotics to clear an infection in his chest." Jonathan continued as Bill nodded "He had a problem a short while ago where he had to have the breathing tube changed and when he was distressed so was Lucas. They have a very strong bond."

"Most twins do, it's well documented."

"Last night my wife got very upset because she felt it would be better for both boys if they could be in the incubator together. The Doctor in the unit refused saying it wasn't hospital policy. Now I understand there are set guidelines, but surely each case should be judged individually and the best interests of the patients and the family considered?"

"And you want me to overrule the policy?"

"Would you at least think about it, or help me find doctors who have seen the benefits and talk to them about it. My wife is at breaking point. We've had very a traumatic time recently and she was admitted here 3 weeks ago to keep her pregnancy going as long as possible. Our two year old is deeply upset and I need to do something to help my family."

"I understand." Bill nodded. "I don't really need to find exponents of the treatment to talk to, I've read papers on it and seen a film of twin girls in a similar situation to your boys where it really helped them both, but especially the weaker one."

"Will you allow us to try it?"

"We'll put them in together and monitor them very closely, if there is an improvement then we'll take it hour by hour, if there isn't and either of the boys deteriorates then we'll have to separate them again."

"Thank you so much for listening and understanding. We just want what's best for our boys and we believe them being back together will help them both, but if it doesn't then we'll agree to them being separated again."

"Ok. I need to speak to Paediatrics first to find out the status of each baby. Can you give me about 45 minutes?"

"Of course... I really appreciate this."

Both men stood up and Jonathan reached to shake Bill's hand.

"Meet me in the NICU in 45 minutes."

"We'll be there. Thank you for giving this a chance."

Jonathan paused at the door of Jennifer's room and looked in at his girls. Jennifer was lying on her back with her arm round Aubrey who was lying on her side close to her Mama's body with her head on her chest. Simba was on the bottom of the bed so she'd let go of him in favour of hugging her Mama.

As he walked in to the room Jennifer opened her eyes and looked up at him, crossing to the bed he leaned down to kiss her softly then touched Aubrey's cheek.

"I spoke with Bill O'Brien. He's the Chief of Staff."

"OK..."

"We've to meet him in the NICU in 40 minutes and he'll decide if the boys can be together. He needs to speak to the Paediatrician first but he knows of cases where it's been the right thing to do so he's at least going to consider it."

"Oh Darling thank you..." Jennifer's tears which were never far away filled her eyes and she held her hand out for him to take. Aubrey watched them both in silence knowing they were talking about her brothers. She didn't like it that Mama and Daddy were sad and that Mama had a sore tummy and that the babies were in plastic boxes and couldn't come home and see their toys or play with their Simba's.

"They'll take it hour by hour and if either of them deteriorates in any way then they'll separate them again."

"Ok, I understand."

"At least he's willing to give them a chance."

"That's all we asked for."

They all sat together for a while resting, then Jonathan checked his watch, they had 15 minutes to go.

"I'll take Aubrey to the bathroom and get her freshened up." Hearing her name Aubrey lifted her head and looked at her Daddy. "Do you need anything before we go back to see Lucas and Andrew sweetie?"

"Do you want a drink or something to eat?" Jennifer asked taking her daughter's hand in hers. Aubrey shook her head and Jonathan lifted her up, stopping to let Jennifer kiss her fingers first.

"We'll be back in a minute." He said taking Aubrey in to Jennifer's private bathroom and closing the door. Jennifer pulled herself up in the bed and lifted Jonathan's phone from the cabinet where he'd left it so she could look at the pictures on it. She was so happy that they were getting the chance to have the boys in together and she knew they'd prove that they needed each other. She regretted her behaviour earlier and thanked God that the love she and Jonathan had was strong enough to carry them through those dark moments. She knew in the back of her mind that she was being irrational but she couldn't help it. She still felt she was to blame for them all being in this situation and until they were all fine again she couldn't forgive herself, but her children needed her so she'd have to focus on that instead of her own thoughts and feelings.

After Jonathan came back with Aubrey he helped Jennifer out of bed and she went to freshen up too. When she came back through Aubrey was sitting on one of the chairs with all three Simba's in her little arms and she gave her an encouraging smile.

"Lucas and Andrew will love the Lion's you chose for them. I think that when you and Daddy go home you should take them all with you so you can look after them until your brothers are feeling better and can come home too." Aubrey nodded but still didn't say anything which was really unlike her.

"We're going to go back and see your brothers in a few minutes." Jonathan told Aubrey and she hugged all the toys to her.

When they went back to the NICU Bill was there in conversation with the doctor who'd told them it wasn't hospital policy, and by the time they'd all gotten gowns on and washed their hands with the antiseptic gel the younger man was helping a nurse set up another isolette and Bill came to talk to them.

"Hello Mrs Hart" he smiled but they didn't shake hands as they'd just used the gel.

"Darling this is Bill O'Brien, he's the Chief of Staff." Jonathan said "Bill this is my wife Jennifer and our daughter Aubrey."

"Hello Aubrey, have you come to see your little brothers?" She nodded and backed up a couple of steps until she was standing against Jonathan's legs.

Bill smiled and then turned his attention back to Jonathan and Jennifer.

"Ok, the good news is that Andrew seems to be able to regulate his own body temperature for now so we've decided that we'll put the boys together in an isolette rather than an incubator. Andrew will still have the CPAP but with 2 nasal tubes instead of the mask so it'll be easier for the boys to be side by side. Andrew still has the feeding tube and the IV and he's still poorly so we'll monitor them closely and re-assess the situation hour by hour."

"Thank you." The Harts said in unison.

It took a while to set everything up and Andrew got upset when they were changing the CPAP machine so Lucas became unsettled too, Jonathan lifted him and spoke to him then bent down to let Aubrey give him a kiss which she did, gently on his forehead. Jennifer smiled then turned her attention back to Andrew and within a few minutes the mask was gone and there were two little tubes replacing it.

The nurse moved the chair and Bill smiled at her.

"Sit down Mrs Hart and you can hold Andrew for a couple of minutes while we move the incubator to get their new bed in."

Jennifer looked at Jonathan who was still holding Lucas and they both smiled through their tears as Jennifer sat down and the nurse lifted Andrew out and carefully manoeuvred the wires before placing him in to his Mother's waiting arms. Jonathan sat on the chair the nurse had moved next to hers and they looked down in to Andrew's face, seeing him properly for the first time without the mask. Jennifer felt the love flow through her as Aubrey stood between her and Jonathan and they were finally together, their family of five.

"Look Darling, he's got your nose," She whispered

"And that stubborn cowlick of yours," Jonathan laughed, "Let's face it Darling, DNA be damned they are our children,"

She just looked into his eyes and kissed him," Thank you"

"No, thank you for the four greatest gifts in my life,"

"Four?, " She looked at him curiously

"Lucas, Andrew Aubrey and you of course," He kissed her forgetting the baby in his arms and the one in hers. They kissed until they heard a tiny squawk from Baby Lucas

Aubrey had been unusually quiet stepping back, just observing when her Mama pulled her forward, and was nose to nose with her

"Lovebug, We need your help, the boys need a big sister and you are very important to them," She whispered, knowing that going from being an only to a sister of two is a cultural shocked.

"Yes Mama," She nodded although she was pretty sure these guys were just temporary

After a half hour, of just holding their babies and being in awe of them, memorizing their every movement and taking notice of their already distinctive personalities, it was time for her to go back to her room to rest and for Jonathan to take Aubrey home, they were surprised she wasn't climbing walls but knew that a tantrum was on the horizon if they didn't get food in her and a nap.

Jonathan put Lucas down first and when he stepped back, Jennifer carefully put Andrew beside him, cautious of the wires and as soon as they could sense each other, the monitor on Andrew levelled off and Lucas smiled, like he held a secret in keeping his brother safe.

"I'll never doubt Mother's intuition again," Jonathan said in awe

Jonathan wheeled Jennifer back to her room in the wheelchair with Aubrey on her lap and when she got into bed, she nearly fell back from exhaustion into the pillows

"Daddy, time to go!" Aubrey said urgently

"I know Baby, just a minute" He kissed Jennifer on her head, whispered he loved her and just watched her fall into a deep sleep

"Daddy, I'm leaving!" Aubrey said walking out the door and into the

"Not without me!" Jonathan was right on her heels

He knew Max wanted to prepare this great meal for them when they got home but He knew Aubrey would never sit through one of his fanastically amazing meals, she'd been couped up all day and needed something quick so she could run around and burn off her energy

So he did what other Daddies have done since the end of time, when exhausted, Mama's not around and what's convenient

He took her to Mickey D's and made her swear that she would never tell her Mama because her Mama would have a stroke, eating all that junk food.

She ate half a burger, a few fries and some drink but was more interested in the toy, a Cinderella doll, the latest promotion from Disney.

He let her climb all over the playground equipment for about a half hour while he checked in with his secretary and made sure that in his absence, someone could step in..His family was the number one priority of course but if the company went under in his absence, he'd have no one to blame but himself

He took his eyes off her for one minute and suddenly heard "Daddy!" being wailed

He raced through the restaurant into the play area to find his daughter on the ground, rubbing her head

"Baby, what happened?" He said getting on her level

"The Lady, she said she knew where Mama was and that i needed to see her but she didn't use the secret word," Aubrey said gearing up for a good cry

"What Lady?" Jonathan was on the verge of the biggest meltdown of the 21st century, when would his daughter stop being a target?

"She had hair like this," Aubrey held up the Cinderella toy she'd been clutching

"Stay here," He said firmly and she knew in that tone, not to budge

He ran to the parking lot but didn't see anyone, when he turned to go back into Mickey D's, he saw a blonde wig tossed into the garbage, he grabbed it, stuffed into his pocket and went back to his daughter

"Let's go home Baby," He picked her up, kissed her head and went to the car, he debated on going back in to look at the security cameras but why would there be security cameras on playground equipment ?

He thought about it all the way home, while she babbled from her car seat to the music and he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him or that something big was coming around the corner.

He got her home to Willow Pond but the house was dark which was unusual

"Hello?" Jonathan called

"Poppa Max?" Aubrey called out but didn't walk away because her daddy was holding onto her hand

"No one's here, wonder where they could have gone?" Jonathan wondered into the Kitchen and saw a note

"What's that?" Aubrey pointed a chubby hand to it

"It says they went to dinner and not to wait up," Jonathan didn't know that they had become so close but he guessed that with all the chaos that had happened he wasn't surprised.

"Alright Missy, Bathtime and then.."

"No Bed!" She was stubborn

"Yes Ma'm, we both need to sleep before we get ugly," He picked her up over his shoulder and ran around to the front stairs

He filled the big tub with hot water like she liked it, threw in her bath toys and took off her clothes which this morning had been clean but now was the remnants of her dinner, her shirt looked like a watercolour of Ketchup, Mustard and Mayo

"We may have to burn this shirt," Jonathan laughed as she splashed and sunk her ship

He figured he'd better do a little investigating on the woman from Mickey D's but he didn't want to do it in front of her because she might overhear and her two year old mouth would get him in trouble with Jennifer

He ran out to the bedroom, grabbed his cell phone and stood in the bedroom closet where he could see her splashing with the door open

"Freison, It's Hart.. I need an errand and put a rush on it," Jonathan explained quickly then went back to his daughter who'd become one red prune

"Alright you..Out!" He said grabbing a towel

"No Daddy!" She loved playing in the tub and would spend all night given the chance

"Yes Yes, my little chicklet," He dried her off, put her in pajamas although they didn't match, a sleeping beauty top with Minnie mouse bottoms

"Daddy, jammies have to match," She rolled her eyes at him, a trick she'd picked up from her Mama

"Excuse Me, Miss Chanel .." He rolled his eyes but made no move to fix it..she's two..he reasoned with himself, "Bed time!"

"I thirsty!" She declared getting into bed

He left and returned with a small cup Jennifer had left in the bathroom when she was brushing Aubrey's teeth

"I hungry," This kid obviously had an education in stalling

"No you're not, now bed!" Jonathan pulled up the covers

"Tell Me a story," She said her eyes half way closed

"Well, a long time ago, there was a very lonely Prince who had travelled the world, met all sorts of interesting people and had interesting but scary adventures and he wanted desperately to share that with someone but no one was special enough and so he searched and searched for that one person until he felt like he had searched the world and she was nowhere to be found, unknown to him, a beautiful Princess was searching for her special love, she had to fight her way through a bunch of dragons, demons and bad guys but then suddenly She came across the Prince and they knew the moment they had met, that they didn't have to search anymore, that life was going to be one amazing adventure after another. " Jonathan was going to continue but her deep breathing said she was under so he kissed her head, put one of her Simba's under arm, turned on the nightlight and left

"Good Night Baby"


	18. Waiting for a miracle

Aubrey was having a bad morning, first she had kicked off her blankets, somehow tossed samba across the room in her sleep and she was cold plus yesterday's goings on had messed with her head she didn't understand what had happened but she knew her Mama was very upset and that her and Daddy had yelled at each other. Plus there was the whole business with that weird woman and trying to get her to leave without tell her Daddy first

Plus she also realized that those two babies Mama was crying over were permanent.

So when she got up, and went to Mama and Daddy's room, she saw that Daddy wasn't in the big bed or in the shower ..She searched the whole top floor and he was nowhere to be found, she was not in the mood to play and this game of hide-n-seek was only adding to her aggravation.

She went to the top of the stairs and noticed it was still gated, and that Daddy was sleeping on the couch in front of his brief-case, she rattled like the gate like an angry prisoner and called for his attention," Daddy, Daddy! DADDY!"

Nothing normally she would have just gone into her room to play until he came up and got her but not today

"DADDY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs

"What?" Jonathan shot off the couch, he'd been dreaming about him and Jennifer in a hot tub in Vail and she was talking to him about moving his foot

"Gate!"She kicked at the gate

"Excuse me, if you would like to come downstairs, you said politely Daddy come let me down, we don't kick the gate," He said from the couch

She just stared at him with her eyes

"Well, then I guess you'll just stay up there," Jonathan rubbed his eyes

"Daddy, I need to get down please," She said through gritted teeth

"That's Better," He started up the stairs but stopped, she was dragging Simba by his tail and her hair was in every direction, plus the miserable look on her face told him that this was going to be a long day for him.

"Daddy.." She tapped her impatiently

"Come on Baby," He started to reach for her to just pick her up over the gate but she took two steps back

"I'm a big girl," She said, "I don't need to be carried,"

"Okay," He rolled his eyes but opened the gate and she stepped past him like he was just a speedbump in her direction

She stomped to the kitchen, knocked the booster seat off and sat in the chair, arms crossed but the problem was she was so small that her nose come to the edge of the table and in order for her to eat, she'd have to get into the booster seat.

"Miss Aubrey, I think you'd better seat in your booster seat," Jonathan said from the kitchen door

Never had fear struck him so much than when his two year old daughter spun her head and bore her ice cold blue eyes into his like he'd just committed a cardinal sin.

Jonathan swallowed hard and went to the Coffee pot, where he poured a big cup and drank half before asking his next question, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pizza," She said slowly

"That's not breakfast food, Missy, you can have cereal or Pancakes,"

"Mama would let me have pizza for breakfast,"

"No your Mama would give you a piece of fruit and call it the day," Jonathan said going to the fridge

"I want PIZZA!"

"I'm getting ready to douse in you in a bath full of holy water if you don't knock it off," Jonathan was exasperated

"Hey Mr. H," Max came in from the guest house," Hey Kiddo"

"Hey Max," Jonathan said before he turned around and seeing that Max was wearing his bathrobe and a smile that told him more than enough information, "I don't want or need to know details just suffice to say I'm glad one of us got some action last night,"

Max blushed

"Alright Kiddo, how about some Poppa Max's Pancakes," Max said noticing the booster seat on the ground and the angry child at the table

"Good Luck, I'm getting nowhere" Jonathan said

"PIZZA!" She was adamant

"What if we make Pancake Pizza?" Max was always willing to compromise and defuse the situation

"No!" She wasn't stupid, Jonathan gave her that much credit

"Well then I guess you aren't hungry," Jonathan said

She slid off the chair, walked across the kitchen ,threw the both of them a dark look and stomped up the stairs

"Who knew Jennifer gave birth to Rosemary's baby?" Jonathan shrugged

"What do you think her problem is?" Max was concerned, she'd been home for nearly two months and had never acted like this

"Yesterday was too much for her, too much for all of us but I think it just finally sunk in, the reality of her kidnapping, Jennifer being in the hospital and then the babies being born especially Andrew being sick plus some woman tried to grab her at Mickey D's last night," Jonathan said sipping his coffee

"Some woman tried to grab her?"

"Yeah I've got Freison on the case," Jonathan loosing up his neck to do battle with his daughter

"That guy's a narc, he couldn't find the back end of a Buick," Max commented, "So what's on the plans today,"

"Well if Chucky cooperates, I figured that I'd take her to the zoo and to the water park as a break from the hospital then swing by here, drop her off and go to the hospital,"

"Sounds good," Max said ducking into his room

"When Mama gets home, I'm dropping you off in her lap and running for the hills," Jonathan said going upstairs.

At the hospital, Jennifer was resting and waiting for Jonathan to arrive so they could go down and see the progress of the babies, she had been down there earlier but it was too hard watching one baby happy and thriving while the other was sickly and unhappy.

She was wrestling with waiting for him or just going down to the nursery herself when the pediatric doctor knocked on her door.

"Hello...Mrs. Hart?" he was a young doctor with Armenian looks, "My name is Mason Dash and I'd like to speak to you about your babies,"

"Alright." the butterflies which she thought had rested were now active and she was nervous

"Lucas is doing amazingly, he's gained weight and he has no respiratory problems because of the abrupt birth, and as far we can tell, he'll be a healthy normal infant leading into childhood, all of his vitals are amazing. All signs are good." He paused

"And Andrew?" She said knowing the worst was coming

"Although his vitals have improved with Lucas being in the incubator with him, he still hasn't improved enough to be taken out and moved to the next level, that combined with the infection in his chest I'm worried it's going to be getting worse, so I'd like to transfer him to the Pediatric ward at UCLA Medical where he'll have a much better chance and they have more experience with this type of infant respiratory distress." The doctor said letting it all sink in

"Are you sending both babies to UCLA?" Jennifer didn't want her boys to be separated again this soon.

"No just Andrew. I'd like to discharge Lucas," The doctor was very kind, he wasn't pushy

"I don't feel comfortable knowing that one of my son's is at home in Bel Air while my other child is in UCLA that's not right, if it's possible, I'd like to check myself out of here with Lucas and move to a room at UCLA because I don't want to be separated from either of them," Jennifer was determined

"Well I think we can arrange that, but can you be ready to go soon?" the doctor stood up, he knew paying for a private room wouldn't be an issue for the Harts so he couldn't foresee any problems with getting checked in.

"Will I have time to call my husband?" Jennifer said thinking that if Jonathan showed up and saw that she and the boys were gone, he'd freak the hell out.

"Yes of course, but we're on a time constraint." The doctor said leaving the room

She quickly got dressed in the clothes Jonathan had brought the second day she was there, thinking she would need them at some point, but they were maternity clothes and since she was no longer maternity, they were a bit bigger than she would have liked but then again she was still misshaped so it didn't matter.

She left a quick message at Willow Pond saying that she was moving herself and Lucas to be with Andrew at the other hospital and to call her on her cell ASAP.

Just as she was signing final papers on herself and Lucas, who was sitting in a baby sling strapped to her chest, she noticed a team of EMTS racing by with an incubator and a nurse calling her

"Mrs. Hart! Let's go!" she quickly signed her name, grabbed her bag and with a hand under her baby followed the EMTS.

Aubrey wasn't as enthralled by the Zoo as Jonathan had hoped she'd be and she seemed a bit upset when she saw the Giraffe's in an enclosure. Then it dawned on him that she'd have seen many of the animals that were enclosed here, in their natural environment and was probably confused. They left a short while later and it was when they were walking back to the car that Jonathan took out his cell phone and realized that the battery had died.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, instantly regretting it when Aubrey repeated it.

Ignoring what she'd said Jonathan fastened her in to her car seat and got in and plugged the phone in to the car charger. A few seconds later it came to life and bleeped indicating 4 missed calls, a voicemail and 2 text messages from Jennifer and 2 missed calls from Max.

He tried Jennifer first but her phone went to voicemail so he guessed she was unable to have it on wherever she was. The messages she'd left told him where she was and he wrestled with whether he should take Aubrey home first or go straight to the hospital. He was already driving towards UCLA when he called Max and asked him to meet them there to take Aubrey home since he thought she'd seen enough of hospital's the last few weeks and needed a break. He was also concerned about Andrew and didn't want her picking up on that.

Max was waiting in the foyer of the Medical Centre when Jonathan and Aubrey got there and he immediately moved towards them.

"Poppa!" Aubrey exclaimed. Jonathan let go of her hand as Max reached to lift her up.

"Hello sweetheart." He smiled as Jonathan moved to kiss her cheek.

"Daddy will see you later, you be a good girl for Poppa." He told her.

"Where you goin' Daddy?"

"I'm going to see Mama."

"I see Mama!"

"Not just now baby, you need to go home with Poppa and see Pearl."

"No Daddy! I see Mama and brothers." She was more upset than angry and he felt terrible but he didn't know what was happening with his son's and he needed to concentrate on them and Jennifer for now.

"Come on Aubrey, Poppa and Pearl are taking you for ice cream…" Max started to walk away with her and she turned back and looked at her Daddy. He blew her a kiss and watched until they were out the door before walking quickly to the Reception to find out where Jennifer and their boys were.

When he got to the Pediatric ward Jonathan was heading to the Nurses station when he passed the waiting room and saw Jennifer sitting with Lucas. She looked up and met his gaze as he walked through the doors and he immediately felt sick as he saw her red eyes. He had to swallow hard before speaking.

"Jennifer?"

"I had to come out here with Lucas while they were putting Andrew back on the CPAP and putting an IV in. Both of the boys got distressed so they said it was better if I waited through here."

"Does Lucas not have to be in there too?"

"No, he's been discharged. He's doing really well. I just gave him a feed but I don't have anything for him. They gave me a couple of diapers, a sleepsuit and blanket but we'll need clothes, diapers, wipes…"

"Its fine darling, we have all of those at home."

"We're not coming home, we're getting a room here until Andrew is better. I'm not having one of our boys at home and the other one here. They need to be together and I need to be with them both." She was adamant and Jonathan knew it wasn't the time to argue with her.

"Why don't I take Lucas and you go in with Andrew while they get him settled."

Jennifer nodded and stood up, she kissed Lucas softly and handed him to Jonathan. She paused a moment and Jonathan leaned forward and kissed her lips then stood back and smiled encouragingly at her.

"See you shortly." She said and headed out of the room and down the corridor.

The doctor was listening to Andrew's chest with a stethoscope when Jennifer walked in. He was back on the CPAP and had an IV in his hand. He was in a neonatal crib rather than an incubator and he was lying on a fleecy blanket wearing a diaper and a white cotton hat. His chest was bare and had 2 pads with wires linking him to a heart monitor.

Stepping back the doctor turned towards her.

"Mrs. Hart, Andrew is settled now. He definitely has Infant respiratory distress syndrome so we've put him on the CPAP and are giving him intravenous fluids to stabilize his blood sugar, blood salts, and blood pressure. We're also giving him an artificial surfactant to help prevent collapse of the terminal air-spaces in his lungs." Jennifer could only nod as she didn't really have the energy to concentrate on what he was saying. "We'll see how the next 24 hours go, hopefully this will be sufficient to get him back breathing on his own."

"What happens if it doesn't work?"

"The next step would be an endotracheal tube, a tube which goes in his mouth and down his throat. But hopefully that won't be necessary."

"Can I sit with him?"

"Yes, of course. We need to regulate his body temperature so you can touch him but we'd rather you didn't handle him at the moment."

"Whatever's best for him." Jennifer said quietly as she moved to stand beside Andrew's crib. She used the antiseptic hand gel that was on the wall behind the bed and then reached over and gently touched her son's tiny hand. He moved his fingers and Jennifer put her pinkie into his hand so he could hold it. Leaning over him she bent her head and touched her lips to his cheek. "Mama's here now precious boy." She whispered and his eyes fluttered at the sound of her voice. "You rest now and get better so you and Lucas can come home together. You need to live up to your name Andrew and be our brave boy." Jennifer saw the heart monitor flash as his heartbeat increased slightly then regulated again and she smiled, sure he was letting her know he was going to fight this. Kissing him softly again she pulled the chair as close to his bed as she could with her free hand, keeping her pinkie in his grasp she sat down to wait.

30 minutes later when they came to check Andrew's vital signs the nurse asked Jennifer if she wanted to take a break for a few minutes and she'd sit with him.

"I should go and let my husband know what's happening, he's with Andrew's twin." 

"You go, I'll sit with Andrew. He seems quite settled now."

"Can my husband come in with Lucas for a few minutes then?" Jennifer asked, desperate to have both her boys back in the same room.

"I don't see why not." The nurse smiled "I believe Lucas is doing really well, being discharged on day 3 is excellent." Jennifer nodded as she looked at Andrew a moment before leaving him with the nurse and going to find Jonathan and Lucas.

Jonathan had spoken with Admissions and had paid for a private room for Jennifer and Lucas. The staff had set up a bed and a crib and Jonathan had laid a sleeping Lucas down in the crib and sat on the chair next to it.

He had left a message to tell Jennifer where they were and a few minutes later she came to find them.

Jonathan got up quickly and walked towards her, noticing how exhausted she looked.

"How's Andrew?" He asked putting his arms around her and holding her against him for a moment.

"He's settled just now." Jennifer took a step back and looked at him. "He has Infant respiratory distress syndrome and they have him on the CPAP and an IV drip with fluids to help regulate his blood. They're giving him something to coat his lungs to make them stronger too. We just have to wait."

"Why don't you get in to bed and rest for a while and I'll go and sit with Andrew."

"No, I'm ok, I'd rather be there with him. The nurse said we can all stay with him for a little while. Lucas too." Jennifer walked over to the crib and looked down at her firstborn son sleeping peacefully, his little cheeks pink and healthy. He was small but he was perfect, he'd even gained a few ounces on his birth weight and was almost 6lbs now. What he'd gained Andrew had lost and the doctor had explained to her that he was on high calorie formula through a feeding tube now which they were hoping he would tolerate ok.

"I called Max and asked him to drop by later on with some things for you and Lucas while you're here. Pearl will put a bag together for you both."

Jennifer reached in to the crib and lifted Lucas in to her arms, she kissed his forehead and he gave a little sigh. Looking at Jonathan she nodded.

"Thank you. How's Aubrey?"

"She's fine. She had a bit of a tantrum earlier but it's a lot for her to deal with. She was upset not to be coming with me but Poppa promising ice cream for lunch brought her around." Jonathan explained. "She was fine again when I spoke to Max."

"That's good." Jennifer smiled "Shall we go and see Andrew now?" She spoke softly to Lucas "He needs his big brother."

When they got back in to Special Care the nurse was still sitting with Andrew and she stood up as Jonathan approached his crib. Looking down he fought back tears as he saw all the tubes and wires, but the nurse put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's stable and so far he's tolerating the formula in his feeding tube so we're hopeful we'll see some improvement in his condition soon. You need to be positive." She told him and Jonathan nodded.

Reaching across he gently stroked Andrew's hand "Hey Champ, Daddy's here." And just as he had with Jennifer, Andrew's eyes fluttered at the sound of Jonathan's voice and his heart beat increased slightly for a few seconds.

The nurse brought another chair over and Jennifer sat down with Lucas while Jonathan stood holding Andrew's hand.

They sat in silence for an hour while both boys slept, then Lucas stirred and needed fed so Jennifer took him back to their room to feed him and change him before coming back so she and Jonathan could swap places at Andrew's side which they did for another two hours.

The doctor came to check on Andrew and was pleased that he was tolerating the milk through the feeding tube and was stable. There was no real sign of improvement, but no deterioration either.

Once the doctor had left Jonathan told Jennifer to take Lucas back to their room and get some rest. She didn't have the strength to protest so he told the nurse he'd be back shortly and he took them along himself. Taking Lucas Jonathan placed him in the crib and then helped Jennifer in to bed and pulled the crib alongside her.

"I'm going to call Max and get him to come by with the things we need in a couple of hours. Do you think Aubrey should come?"

"I'm not sure. I'd love to see her but maybe we should leave it until tomorrow if she's been upset."

"I think that's for the best. I'm sure she'll be fine with Pearl… You get some rest now and I'll be back soon." Jonathan told her as he headed out to call Max.

Arrangements made Jonathan checked in on Jennifer and Lucas who were both asleep before going back to sit with Andrew.

"Hi Buddy!" He whispered into Andrew's tiny ear, " I know you are fighting and are tired but I promise soon you'll be home with Auntie Pearl and Poppa Max, we have such big plans for you and Lucas, We're going to Dodger games, watch the Knicks play and Daddy's gonna teach you to fly Hart One.. But we can't do anything until you get better so hurry up and get well."

Jonathan had never experienced such a change of emotion knowing that this piece of him and Jennifer was struggling to live. His faith had been a large piece of his upbringing and for awhile he had drifted away from the Church and God but somehow he'd come full circle and he knew that without some sort of higher prayer, there would be no hope for his boy.

"Please Please I'm begging you make my boy healthy, restore my family to what it should have been I've never asked for anything from anyone but I need this, We need this, he's our son and he deserves a life without tubes and doctors," Jonathan silently cried.

Jonathan left the nursery, waiting for his tiny miracle whatever it maybe.


	19. A Kiss to build a dream on

Jennifer sat up slowly in the bed, feeling the ache in her abdomen as she did. It was hours since she'd had any pain relief and it served as a reminder that she needed to take things easier than she had been doing.

She thought Lucas might be wanting fed but as she got up and looked down in to the crib he was still asleep so she let him be and lay down again.

She found herself thinking back over the last few years, and her relationship with Jonathan. They'd been through so much during the short time they'd been together and it had made their relationship stronger. They had survived the worst thing that could ever happen to a couple, the loss of a child. They'd stayed together, worked through the pain and the guilt and knowing that Aubrey could never be replaced, made the difficult decision to try for another baby. She'd been pregnant and full of conflicting emotions when they were given the ultimate gift and had gotten their little girl back. And now they had two beautiful boys and she prayed that the same force which had given them back their daughter would make sure they left this hospital with two healthy sons. Their children would live a charmed life, they'd be looked after and have the best of everything but most of all they'd be loved and cherished by parents who loved and cherished each other.

Jennifer's thoughts turned to Jonathan as they so often did. He was an amazing man and she knew she'd never felt real love until he'd come in to her life. Things had happened faster than they'd planned and she knew those months they were apart when she was pregnant with Aubrey still haunted him, but that time in their lives was history now and the future was what was important.

Jennifer thought she had been dozing while she waited for Jonathan to come back but she must have fallen in to a deeper sleep because she'd been dreaming.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the grounds at Willow Pond were full of fun and laughter. Her children were out in the back garden and she was sitting on a rug in the shade of a large tree watching them as they played together on the big swing set.

Seven year old Aubrey was swinging backwards and forwards on the glider, calling out instructions on how to go faster to her Five year old brothers who were in the gondola alongside her. One of the boys was standing up doing what she was telling him, while the other twin was sitting on the seat watching, his head thrown back in laughter. It was a scene that filled her heart with joy and as she looked across the garden she saw Jonathan walking towards her, his smile was as broad as hers. A moment later the gondola was slowing down and the twins were both off and running to meet him. They looked identical, two beautiful, strong, healthy boys, their thick shiny dark hair so like Jonathan's, and as all three of them walked back towards her and she got up to meet them she was greeted by Jonathan's sparkling blue eyes and two pairs of matching hazel eyes which mirrored her own. Just like Aubrey, the boys were a combination of both of their parents.

The boys danced around Jonathan while he kissed Jennifer, both eager for his attention, their beautiful sun kissed faces looking up at him like he was their hero. Jennifer turned to see where Aubrey was and smiled as she saw her kneeling on the blanket leaning over the Moses basket and talking to her baby sister.

"Katie's awake Mama." She said as the baby started to fuss...

Jennifer could hear the baby, but it wasn't the baby in her dream, it was Lucas, and as she woke up she felt peaceful and hopeful that her dream was significant, that she'd had a glimpse in to the future and seen both of their boys running around happy and healthy.

And another baby girl? She smiled and shook her head not yet able to think about having another baby, even five years in to the future.

Jennifer fed Lucas again and as she looked down in to his sweet face she could see Jonathan in him, his nose and his mouth and the dark hair, but if her dream was true then he'd have her eyes and so would Andrew.

As Lucas drifted back off to sleep again Jennifer thought about her brave little Andrew. It was so unfair that he was having to fight so hard, but she had a stronger belief now that he was going to be fine, whether it took a few days, or a few weeks, he was going to get stronger and he and Lucas would be sharing a crib in their Nursery while their big sister slept in her room next door. All of their babies would be at home where they belonged and their life as a family could really begin.

Jennifer held Lucas against her and kissed his head, she wondered how the boys would be alike and how they'd be different. She would always encourage their individuality and wasn't planning on dressing them identically. She knew they'd have a special bond but she wanted to make sure that Aubrey never felt like an outsider. It wasn't going to be easy with three little ones, but it wouldn't be that hard either with all the love there was to go around in their family. Max and Pearl would be a godsend and would be wonderful grandparents, a part of her wished they'd find happiness with each other as they both deserved the best, but she knew better than to meddle.

She wondered how her little Aubrey was doing after her earlier tantrum, she was a real mass of contradictions and maybe always would be. She was strong willed and feisty but she was also loving and trusting and tender. Jennifer knew her daughter would forget her first two years and would probably only have memories of their family life and she was glad about that, they would never get that time back so she really wanted to forget what had happened during that dreadful period. They would have to face questions one day but by then Aubrey would be secure in herself and her family so explaining the lack of baby pictures would be easier to deal with.

Lucas was fast asleep again and Jennifer was debating getting up to put him in the crib when the door opened and Jonathan came in. He smiled at her and she could see he looked weary, this all had to be just as hard on him as it was on her, maybe even more so as she knew he was worried about her too. She couldn't blame him, her rollercoaster of emotions wouldn't have been easy to deal with as she'd struggled with fear, anger and guilt as well as hope and joy. He'd had to take on the role of Mommy and Daddy to Aubrey and still run Hart Industries and yet he'd been at the hospital to see her twice a day every day when she was on bed rest.

"Are you ok Darling?" She asked him as he came and stood beside her. He nodded and leaned down to kiss her first and then Lucas. Jennifer held the baby out to him and he took him, smiling as he held his son close.

"I'm fine. I was sitting with Andrew for a while."

"Any change yet?" Jennifer asked

"Not really. He's been having the formula and taking it through the tube ok and he's stable. He's still on the IV and they replaced the bag of fluids when I was there and gave him more antibiotics so it's just a waiting game."

"I'll go back along and sit with him for a while." Her eyes met Jonathan's and she reached her hand out to touch his. "He's going to make it Jonathan, I know he's going to be just fine." Jonathan could only nod.

He kissed Lucas again and laid him in the crib. "Max will be here in a few minutes with the things you needed from home so I'll go down and wait for him, and then I can stay here with Lucas for a while whilst you go along and sit with Andrew."

"That's fine, thank you." She watched as Jonathan left the room, his shoulders were slumped a little and that upset her, she hated to see him look defeated when she knew Andrew was going to be fine. She needed him to believe it too.

What they needed was a little sign of improvement and hopefully that would come soon.

Jennifer had freshened up and gotten changed before going along to Special Care to see Andrew. She'd insisted that Jonathan lie on the bed for a while and come and get her if Lucas needed fed.

The now familiar beeping of machinery greeted Jennifer as she went in and she noticed the doctor was standing with Andrew, listening to his tiny chest. This time when she walked towards them it wasn't with fear it was with hope and when he turned and saw her, the doctor smiled.

"Hello Mrs Hart. I've just been listening to Andrew's chest and he's breathing a little easier. We're still maintaining the same CPAP pressure and giving him the same IV treatment and we'll have a clearer indication in a few hours of whether he's responding. He's had two lots of formula and has had two wet diapers so his kidney function seems to be fine. His last lot of bloods looked slightly better, the fluids seem to be working to stabilise them. He still has a long few days ahead of him as we need his lungs working properly on their own, but it looks like he's heading in the right direction for now."

"Thank you doctor." Jennifer smiled. He replaced the chart at the bottom of the crib then moved to the next baby as Jennifer leaned over to kiss Andrew's forehead to let him know she was here with him.

Andrew continued at the same level as the day disappeared in to evening and she and Jonathan swapped places when Lucas needed fed.

At 9 O'clock Jennifer told Jonathan to go home and go to bed and she and Lucas got settled in to their room for the night. He left reluctantly, looking in to say good night to Andrew before he went.

"Sweet dreams champ" he whispered as he kissed his head. "Daddy loves you."

He left Lucas with the same words and kissed Jennifer softly on the lips. "Good night Darling. See you in the morning. I love you."

"I love you too Jonathan. Night night." Jennifer had smiled as she watched him leave.

Jennifer was asleep and dreaming again.

They were back in the garden, the boys jumping around Jonathan, and Aubrey sitting on the blanket watching over her baby sister. Jennifer sat down beside her and was talking to her, telling her what a lovely big sister she was and how lucky her brothers and sister were to have her.

"I'm lucky too Mama, you and Daddy never had any brothers or sisters and I have three!"

Jennifer nodded and smiled at her "We're all lucky to have each other baby."

Just then one of the boys appeared and quickly sat in Jennifer's lap, reaching up to put his arms around her neck. Jennifer hugged him tight and kissed his freckled cheek, savouring the feel of his warm body as he hugged her back.

"That's a nice hug, thank you sweetheart."

"I love you Mama!" The little voice told her as he wriggled from her and headed back to join his brother climbing all over their Father.

"I love you too Andrew!" Jennifer called after him.

Jonathan stood up with both his boys hanging off of him, "Alright guys, let's show Mama the play we saw yesterday,"

Without a word, they scrambled down and moved into position with Jonathan clutching the ball and each boy on either side.

Jonathan yelled "Hike" and started to run but only got half way across the yard before both boys ambushed him and tackled him the ground.

"We got you Daddy!" Lucas yelled crinkled his freckled nose

"Guys I think you'd better take it easy on Dad," Jennifer walking over to where Jonathan was lying and bent down, " Are you alright?"

She yelped as he grabbed her and pulled her ontop of him, kissing her

"Oh No! Mama and Daddy are at it again!" Aubrey dramatically grabbed her throat and dropped to the ground

"Well how do you think you were born, Love Bug ...Immaculate conception?" Jonathan laughed

"Mama, what's an immaculate conception," Andrew asked his little face scrunched

"Nothing Baby" Jennifer laughed

It was the perfect day and no matter what, it would stay that way.

Jennifer woke up to the sound of wailing and realized she had been sleeping through Lucas's tiny cries

"Is that you making all that noise," She said getting up and going to the crib to where Lucas was getting ready for one giant wail from his new lungs, she picked him up and realized he was wet.

"Well, let's fix that," She quickly changed him and started to rub his belly, which seemed to sooth him and he nearly fell right back to sleep

A nurse stuck her head in, "Is everything alright,"

"Yes we're fine," Jennifer wanted a private moment and didn't want to be disturbed, the nurse nodded her head and went back to her business

She moved from the crib to the rocking chair by the window, settling herself and the baby down she looked out the window to the stars, talking quietly to the baby

"You sent me that dream didn't you," and as if he could understand her, he smiled in his sleep.

She wasn't scared of the dream, it in fact gave her peace, more peace than she had in the last few months.

"You really are a magician," She smiled and soon fell asleep with him in her arms.

Jonathan dragged himself home that night, exhausted and starving but not really having the energy to feed himself, the cafeteria food in the hospital sucked and He'd give anything to have the fellas at Nabu's whip up a dinner but that would require effort on his part.

Instead he would settle for a peanut butter sandwich and a bag of fritos before passing out in front of the TV, hopefully his daughter would sleep pass 6am.

He opened the door quietly, it was pass 11pm and he knew that Aubrey would be in bed except he walked into to find Max asleep in the chair, Pearl and Aubrey out cold on the couch and what looked like the Lion King, she'd seen so many times that Max often caught himself humming Hankuna Matata while he cooked..and would often say to Pearl as she passed by the kitchen "I'll give you a thousand dollars to get this damn tune out of my head with a frying pan."

Jonathan stood there debating whether or not to pick Aubrey up to put her in her little bed but remembering the misery from this morning, he figured he'd leave her there.

He went up to the office upstairs and checked message, a few from some clients who were asking about a contract that had long since seen its deadline, he wrote a note telling Deanne, his secretary to make his apologizes but well things happen and contracts will always be there.

The last message was from Stanley Freison,

"Hello Mr. Hart, It's Freison Stanley Freison ..Remember you asked me to check out the video tape at Mickey D's about the attempt on your daughter. Well Mickey D's doesn't keep the tapes for longer than 24 hours so that's lost but I did manage to get a description as well as a license plate from a counter worker. I also came across something connected with ..a missing person's report filed for one Elliot Manning and it says last person seen with him was , I'm not quite sure how that happened, It was filed by a Jillian Manning whoever that is." Freison stopped to take a breath then continued on, "If you need more research please don't hesitate to call me anytime ."

Jonathan wondered what Manning and this Jillian were up to and was frankly too exhausted to think about it, between everything going on with the babies and Jennifer plus dealing with Hart Industries and now this, he needed a martini the size of a bowling ball.

He noticed Pearl walking past the office door, she must have woken up and then put Aubrey to bed and was now on her way to Max's room.

"Hey Pearlie, Come here for a minute," He called out to her

"What's up Charlie" She settled into the chair in front of the desk

"I need you to listen to this and gather some information and find out what the deal is, the sooner the better." Jonathan sat back down in the chair and rubbed his eyes

"Charlie, when's the last time you slept?" Pearl was concerned, he looked terrible, he'd lost so much weight and his eyes were hollow, not the spark that they once had.

"I'm so afraid that if I get into a deep sleep, something's going to go wrong and I just have so much going on in my mind," Jonathan confessed

"You can't live like that, you need sleep your no good to anyone if your completely zonked," Pearl said studying his face

"Well then what do you suggest," Jonathan leaned back into the chair

"Let Max and I go up to the Cabin in Santa Barbara with Aubrey for a few days, she'll have fun on the beach, you can come back and forth without worrying and you'll get some sleep," Pearl suggested

"Oh I don't know, "Jonathan wanted to scream yes but what kind of father would he be if he let his daughter go off after she just came back?

"Charlie, nothing's going happen while the two of us are with her," Pearl understood his hesitation but he was cracking and it would only be a matter of time before he completely lost it.

"Alright, I guess so," Jonathan knew he should consult Jennifer on this but he knew that Aubrey being with Max and Pearl in Santa Barbara would be one less thing for Jennifer to deal with.

They would leave in the morning before he would go into the Office

The next morning, even though he hadn't slept at all , he helped pack up his daughter, trying to remember everything her mother would think to pack, clothes, bathing suit, toothbrush

"Baby, pick a few toys to take with you," Jonathan said to a pouting Aubrey

"I want to see Mama!" She whined

"I know Baby but you're going to have so much fun, Poppa's gonna take you to the beach, Aunty Pearl's gonna take you to the aquarium," Jonathan knew somewhere in her mind, it was being welded that her brothers were coming first and she was being sent out in the cold but he was desperate to give her some sort of normalcy during this chaotic time.

She refused to look him in the eye while he packed her little suitcase, remembering to grab her jacket and when he went to pick up to put her in the car, she waved her hand dismissing him and walked to the car, waiting patiently by the door.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing," Jonathan said to Max, who was putting the suitcases in the car

"Mr. H, she'll be fine ..the question is are you going to be alright ," Max said smiling

"Yeah I'll get some work done then head over to the hospital and check on Jennifer and the boys," Jonathan said suddenly nervous

"I put some casseroles in the freezer, eat something will ya? You look like Hell," Max said watching Pearl put Aubrey in the car

"Yes Dad," Jonathan laughed then went to kiss his daughter goodbye "Hey Missy, this is just for a few days and you'll come back, we'll go to Disney world!" Her face brightened for a second, "I love you Baby,"

"I love you Daddy," She kissed his nose then he stepped back and closed the door

"Alright be careful, guys," Jonathan said as Max started up the car

"We will, Charlie, take care of our girl and the boys," Pearl said getting settled

Jonathan nodded then watched as Max drove down the block and out of sight

He felt sad like he was letting her go again.

He walked back into the house and he suddenly felt very alone in the world. 


	20. Now and Forever

_A/N Edited and Rewritten by _

Jonathan had meant to go into the office right after Max and Pearl left with Aubrey but as soon as he stepped into the house, he suddenly couldn't keep his eyes open and he crawled to the couch where he collapsed into a dream world.

"Daddy!" a voice so familiar to him and yet it sounded so grown up.

"Hmmm, what?" He woke up to find his 15 year old daughter looking down at him, "What's going on?"

"You promised to take me driving. Come on!" She tugged on his arm like she'd done when she was a little girl.

"Baby, just wait a minute, where's your Mama and brothers?" Jonathan rubbed his eyes, he remembered coming in late last night but why hadn't he made it up the stairs?

"Mama took the gruesome twosome to get new shoes and Kat's with Gran Pearl…Daddy, you promised!" She stomped her foot

"Alright, we'll go as soon as I change my clothes," Jonathan knew that she had little patience, that much hadn't changed since she was two.

He changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before grabbing his keys and just before he went through the door, Jennifer came in with both boys

"Ow, let go!"

"You let go first!" they were a mess of limbs and sneakers, they were so tall at the age of 13 that they had passed their mother's height and would often pat her on the head, asking "Mama, did you shrink?"

"Alright, guys break it up!" Jonathan laughed, although they were inseparable, they often got in each other's way like typical brothers.

"Ma! Tell him to get off me!"

"Cry baby!" Lucas and Andrew had very different personalities and it was evident.

"Daddy! Are we going?" Aubrey impatiently stood by the BMW, her father's other baby.

"Are you insane, you're going to take her driving in the BMW?" Jennifer laughed watching him pale slightly

"Can we go too?" The boys said in unison

"Sure, Come on" Jonathan said then was surprised when they suddenly ran upstairs," Where are you going?"

"We'll be right back," Lucas said from the top of the stairs and then ducked into their room

"Hello Darling" Jennifer suddenly remembered her husband and kissed him

"I missed you, 10?" He said reminding her of their standard date after the kids were in bed, it seemed like the only time they had to be alone

"I'll make sure the ice bucket is chilled," She leaned into his chest just as the boys came tumbling down the stairs, Lucas wearing a hockey mask and Andrew in a football helmet, they walked past their parents and into the driveway.

"Ha-ha really funny you guys!" Aubrey protested

Jonathan woke up at that moment, feeling calmer than he'd felt in weeks, but he couldn't understand where that dream had come from, usually his dreams involved his wife and some sort of adventure but to see his children older, made him smile.

He stood up and realized he'd slept through most of the afternoon including a meeting with Jennifer and the pediatric doctor. He quickly changed and got into the car, checking his voicemail, he had several from Jennifer asking if he and Aubrey were alright and that the doctors were allowing Andrew to be on less oxygen in order to rely more on his lungs, and the final message was a very "If you don't call me back soon, I swear on all that's holy I'll kill you and raise the kids myself,"

Hormones and exhaustion were never a good friend to her

Instead of calling her, he raced to the hospital to find her sitting the nursery with Andrew in her arms the IV still in his hand but the CPAP mask gone from his face.

"Where have you been?" She demanded, relieved to see him but still wanting to strangle him

"Sorry Darling, how's our boy doing?" He asked her, the baby had pinked up quite a bit since last night and he seemed to be doing much better.

"He's doing amazingly, he's keeping down his formula and his lung function has improved. Not enough that he can leave the Neonatal unit yet but if he keeps improving at this rate, he'll get transferred to a normal ward soon. Then after that the next step is home!" Jennifer felt hopeful and Jonathan smiled as he felt more positive too.

"I'm so glad," He said kissing her and then kissing the baby

"Darling, where's Aubrey?" She said noticing their daughter wasn't with him

"Oh Max took her and Pearl to the beach, " It wasn't an exact lie but he knew that she was finally okay and he didn't really want to spoil it by telling her that he'd sent their daughter down to Santa Barbara for the rest of the week.

"That's great, I'm glad she's able to be distracted when we're not around," Jennifer said smiling, things were finally coming along and she hoped they would all be home at Willow Pond soon.

For the next few hours, Jennifer and Jonathan sat with their boys and both had their first double cuddle. It felt wonderful to have a baby in each arm.

After holding them a little while they placed them together in the crib and sat holding hands as they watched them interact with each other, loving how every so often Andrew would reach a hand out and Lucas would grab it, they really did have an amazing connection.

Jennifer didn't want to take Lucas away from Andrew again but the doctor wanted to have him back on the CPAP overnight, although this time with the nasal prongs, not the mask which was good. He also said that his bloods were better so they'd let the bag of fluids he had in the IV be the last one, and they'd review him again in the morning.

"What time will Max and Pearl be back with Aubrey? You can get off home now and spend a bit of time with her if you'd like. Lucas and I will get an early night." Jennifer said

"I'm sure they'll have exhausted her so she'll probably go straight to bed. I'll stay here with you a while longer." Jonathan said squeezing her fingers gently. Jennifer knew him so well and she waited until he met her gaze.

"Is there something you aren't telling me Jonathan?"

Jonathan knew better than to lie to her when she was looking right at him and he mentally crossed his fingers she wasn't going to be mad at him.

"Yes… Max and Pearl have taken Aubrey to the cabin for a couple of days. I'm so sorry Darling but I thought it would be better for her than being here when we still weren't sure what was happening with Andrew. She was upset and angry and I thought a bit of one to one with Max and Pearl would be good for her." Jennifer watched him struggle with his guilt and she shook her head and smiled at him.

"I know you didn't send her away for your sake Jonathan. You're right, she does need some nice normal fun times."

"I thought you'd be so mad at me." Jonathan was relieved.

"Well I'm not. Life is too short to waste time being angry and I know you did it out of love."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Why don't you stay with Lucas and I tonight if there's nobody at home? The room is plenty big enough for another bed."

"Yes, I think I will. I'll pop home and pack an overnight bag, and then I'll stop off on the way back and get us some dinner. What would you like?"

"Oh I don't mind, you chose."

"Ok, well I'll head off them and I'll be back in an hour or so." Jonathan smiled and kissed her then leant over the crib and kissed both his boys. "Bye boys, Daddy loves you."

Jennifer watched him go, it would be nice to have him stay with her tonight, she'd almost forgotten what it felt like to lie beside him at night, and although they wouldn't be sharing a bed, sharing a room was the next best thing.

She and Lucas stayed with Andrew until they came to put his nasal tubes on. Jennifer had gotten to change him and dress him in a tiny sleepsuit, which had still needed the sleeves turned up, and she'd had to be really careful with the cannula in his hand but the nurse had told her that if Andrew continued to do so well he'd have it out the following day.

Lucas started fussing when she lifted him out of Andrew's crib but the nurse told Jennifer to wrap him up in a blanket before putting him in his own crib to make him feel more secure. She wasn't convinced it would work but after she'd fed him and changed him she wrapped him up and put him down in the crib. He took a few minutes to go off to sleep but just as Jonathan arrived back he nodded off.

"Great timing!" Jennifer said as Jonathan put down his overnight bag on the rollaway bed that the hospital had supplied for him, and placed the bags with the cartons of Chinese food on the table across her bed, then he moved the table a moment so she could get settled into the bed. "Did you speak to Max?" Jennifer asked

"Yes, and Aubrey, she was telling me all about the seashells she collected. She sounded great and Max said she'd been as good as gold."

"You definitely did the right thing." Jennifer smiled and Jonathan smiled back as he opened the cartons of food and handed Jennifer chopsticks.

They shared the food and sat chatting quietly while they ate and after they finished Jonathan took the empty cartons and went to dump them in a bin, then popped in to see how Andrew was doing.

It was such a relief to see him without the mask, and he looked so cute in proper clothes, even though he was still so little. Jonathan stayed a few minutes then kissed him good night and headed back to Jennifer's room.

Jennifer had been to freshen up and was getting back in to bed when Jonathan got back.

"Did you get some pain relief?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Yes, just before you got back earlier so it'll last until morning."

"Great."

"Why don't you get ready for bed and them come and lie beside me for a while."

"Sounds like a great idea. I'll be five minutes."

And he was. The bed was big enough for Jonathan to lie with his arms around Jennifer and she snuggled in to him with her head on his chest and he stroked her hair, savouring the feeling of her beside him again. After a few minutes her breathing changed and he knew she was drifting off to sleep so he bent and kissed her head and whispered good night to her. He lay with her a while just enjoying holding her, then finally got up and climbed in to his own bed after blowing Lucas a kiss so's not to disturb him.

Lucas was fed twice during the night and Jonathan got up to hand him to Jennifer so she didn't have to get out of bed. They all very quickly got back to sleep each time and both Jennifer and Jonathan felt refreshed when they got up in the morning.

After they were showered dressed and had some breakfast Jonathan carried Lucas and they all headed to the Special Care unit to see Andrew. They were just in time for the Pediatrician's morning rounds and were delighted to see that Andrew's IV was gone and he was once again off the CPAP. His feeding tube was being disconnected and for the first time in his short life Andrew was machine and tube free. He was a little unsettled which wasn't surprising given the poking and prodding which he'd had to endure so Jonathan placed Lucas in the crib beside him and he immediately started to calm down.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hart, Andrew is doing really well. We've removed the CPAP again for a while to see how he copes, and his bloods are really good so the IV is gone. We removed his feeding tube just now too because we want to see how he does with oral feeds. Lucas has no problem with his sucking reflex but we need to see how Andrew copes. We will need to supplement him with the high calorie formula for a few days until we see some weight gain but you can try and feed him yourself whenever you feel ready."

"Thank you doctor." The Harts said in unison and as the doctor moved on to the next baby they turned to each other and smiled.

A bottle was prepared and Jennifer was finally able to bottle fed Andrew, nearly three weeks after his traumatic birth, and as he feed, looking in her eyes, she suddenly felt tears streaming down her face

"Darling?" Jonathan was curious as to why she was crying again

"I'm just so happy," She whimpered," I know stupid right? Happy moment, hysterical mother,", He wiped her tears away with his thumb, careful not to jostle Lucas, who'd found his thumb and was contently sucking

"We'll have more happy moments, now and in the future,"

"Promise?" She looked deep into his eyes

"I promise"

LOOK FOR THE THIRD PART

"_When the cradle falls!"_


End file.
